


Zerbrechlichkeit

by LadyGinoza



Category: Bleach
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-12
Updated: 2016-06-12
Packaged: 2018-04-14 09:04:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 74,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4558752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyGinoza/pseuds/LadyGinoza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He lost his powers only because I wasn't strong enough to protect everyone and in the end Uryuu got hurt…</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

** Chapter 1  **

** Ichigo  **

All that fighting in the Soul Society did quite the number on my body, I’m fricking exhausted.

After all that training Yoruichi gave me in order to achieve bankai and all those fights it’s a miracle that I can even move at all. I have to admit the first day I got back I was still a little bit sore but my body adjusted pretty quickly enough. Three days have passed since we got back and I’m feeling more refreshed now and thanks to all that training I have more stamina when it comes to taking down Hollows that still occasionally appear in Karakura town.

I finish getting dress, so far dad hasn’t jumped on me from out of no where’s ville like he usually does but I’m still not out of the house so I can’t call myself safe until then. I give a quick glance to my calendar, today is August sixteen on a Sunday. I can still enjoy fifteen days of summer vacation before school starts again so I can’t complain. I honestly thought that we would have completely missed out on it but I guess we were lucky and we'll get a chance to relax a little before the new school term starts.

Orihime wanted to go to the new ice cream shop that opened in the Mashiba area next to Mashiba Middle School and Karakura Community Park to celebrate our so called victory and safe return back home. Chad said that he’d be there but Uryuu on the other hand didn’t seem too sure about joining us but after a few minutes Orihime managed to get him to agree to come.

I take a quick look out the window, it’s only nine in the morning and the sun is already shining in full force and I can already feel the heat, looks like it’s going to be another hot day today. Orihime couldn’t have picked a better day to celebrate with ice cream but it’s still going to be a scorcher that’s for sure. Maybe stopping by the river afterwards to cool off would be a good idea.

“Ichigo! I have a major problem in case you have forgotten!”

Oh great… For a short moment I had forgotten about him… He’s becoming such a pain in the ass. Yuzu sure did do some damage to Kon during the time I was away but hey that’s what he gets for wandering around the house instead of staying in my room like I told him to. If he keeps acting this way, it will be only a matter of time before my family catches on to him. It’s a miracle that they haven’t yet actually.

“I’ll get you fixed up Kon, just be patient will you.” I tell him, not really bothering to give him much attention as I finish getting ready.

Kon can be such a pain sometimes. Other than complaining about his damage, he’s been nagging about how Rukia stayed in the Soul Society after everything had settled down instead of coming back to the world of the living which is only understandable since she still doesn’t have her powers back.

Rukia admitted that it would take some time before her powers are completely restored to her and that staying in the Soul Society would do her more good than being in the world of the living which makes more sense staying there than coming here. With the current situation with Aizen, she needs to be at full strength and capable of defending herself when the time will come. To be honest I was kind of disappointed that she wasn’t coming back with us but I always knew that in the end it might have went that way.

“Be patient! I’ve waited three days already and my stuffing keeps coming out!” He shouts as I try to contain the urge to squeeze him to get the mod soul out of him for some peace and quiet.

I let out a sigh as I grab Kon who had jumped into the air in hopes to hit me in the face with his short arms. Seriously like that would have worked, sometimes I really want to know how his brain is even constructed or if he even has one to begin with.

“Yeah, yeah.” I reply. His problems aren’t my major concerns at the moment, his problem is minor so he can wait a few more days, it won’t kill him. 

“Uryuu being a prick and won’t fix me that’s it!?” He shoots back and that’s it, I’ve had it with him this morning as I throw him on the bed.

“Kon I haven’t asked him yet.” I stated as I picked up my wallet placing it in my back pocket and made my way to the door.

“I knew it!-”

“Uryuu lost his powers back in the Soul Society. Even though he hasn’t said anything about it, I know it bothers him so just be patient will you.” I barked back at him with more anger than I had intended to use.

Uryuu…

He came to the Soul Society to help me rescue Rukia. He didn’t have to, after all he’s a Quincy and Rukia is a Soul Reaper. Soul Reapers are his mortal enemies as he likes to say but he still lent me his powers anyway and what did that give him in return? He lost his powers only because I wasn’t strong enough to protect everyone and in the end Uryuu got hurt…

Kon doesn’t say anything else as I leave the room and close the door behind me. So far so good, doesn’t sound like dad’s around and I waste no time going to the bathroom to brush my teeth real quick and I quietly make my way downstairs. From the sounds I can tell that Yuzu is in the kitchen and Karin is watching TV like she always does on Sunday mornings.

“Good morning! Ichigo!”

I lift my arm as I quickly turn around giving my dad a clothesline knocking him to the ground. Sometimes I honestly wonder who the kid is and who's the adult around here is.

I waste no time putting on my shoes and leave the house before he gets back up or I’ll have to deal with more of his idiotic antics.

Yeah it’s definitely going to be a hot one today again. Apparently since we were gone in the Soul Society the weather has been pretty hot in Karakura town and the heat doesn’t seem to want to let up either. I took the weather report yesterday and if they are accurate it’s supposed to be hot and dry all week too. If it continues like this, we might be looking at a water shortage soon. The Karasu River is very low for this time of the year, we need some rain soon.

I wonder what Rukia is doing right now; she said that she would stay in the Soul Society for her powers to recover but is there like some sort of ritual or something? I seriously don’t even know why I thought she was coming back with us but I was rather disappointed that she stayed behind. With the current problem with Aizen, I know that I’ll see Rukia again very soon, maybe sooner than I think depending on how fast she recovers that is.

I manage to arrive at the new ice cream shop but not without looking like I did a major workout. It’s so fricking hot, I’m sure the temperature rose on my way over here. Orihime and Chad are already there sitting at one of the tables at the far end and the only table that is in the shade too. Orihime couldn’t have picked a better spot with this heat we're having today but at least there’s a nice breeze to help cool things down a bit. I quickly join them under the shade and glance around, he isn’t here yet. Uryuu is never late for anything, guess he just really didn’t want to come I guess.

“You guys waited long?” I ask as I sit down next to Chad.

“Nope. I got here a few minutes ago and Chad just arrived. Uryuu should also be here soon, he left home at the same time I did but he lives a little farther away than I do.” Orihime explained in her usual cheery self. So he is coming after all, that’s good…

“Come to think of it I don’t even know where Uryuu even lives.” I suddenly blurt out scratching my head. I’ve known the guy for only a few months which is not very long comparing to Orihime and Chad.

When I stop to really think about it, I barely know anything about Uryuu. All I know is that he’s a Quincy, goes to same school as me and is in my class. That’s about it…

“Uryuu lives in the northern part of the Kitakawase district.” Chad adds in his usual tone that makes most people who don’t know him very well think that he’s uninterested in the subject but in fact he is; that’s Chad for you.

Kitakawase district is a wealthy area, people who earn a low income can’t afford to live there; somehow it doesn’t surprise me that Uryuu is from a wealthy home. The way he acts and talks, everything he does is proper like it was integrated in him from a young age.

I’ve never seen Uryuu wear his school uniform in complete disarray. His shirt is always completely buttoned up and tucked in, and his tie properly done. He’s technically the perfect student, almost like it’s expected of him or something. I wonder what his parents do for a living; it has to be some high paying job that’s for sure…  

Orihime lives alone since her brother died and from what I’ve heard she is supported by an aunt living somewhere and Chad also lives by himself but I’m not too sure how he’s supported. My mom died six years ago so our gang pretty much have in a sense a dysfunctional home. Uryuu on the other hand doesn’t fit us at all but hey at least one of us has to be normal. Well normal in a sense.

If it hadn’t been for Orihime alerting me about Uryuu having lost his Quincy powers back there, I wouldn’t even know about it right now, none of us would. Uryuu hasn’t said anything to me or Chad about it, he only said it to Orihime back when we were in the Soul Society. He asked her not to tell anyone and that she shouldn’t worry about it but out of concern she told us anyway in secret and asked us to keep quiet about it. She felt like it was something that Chad and I should be aware of and quite frankly I appreciate it big time.

At first I thought that since it was fresh and that we were still in the Soul Society, it could have been the reason why he didn’t want to tell us. Maybe he didn’t want all the other Soul Reapers to find out that he had lost his powers. Uryuu after all is a prideful individual but after we got back, he didn’t even say anything at all. Actually he avoids all sorts of social activity since we’ve returned; Orihime is actually the one who forces him to tag along.

“Uryuu!!!!” Orihime’s voice takes me out of my thoughts.

She waves as she calls out to him. I look over my shoulder, silently watching him make his way to our table, taking a seat next to Orihime.

Is it just me but he looks rather pale today, well yeah Uryuu always had a light skin tone but he looks paler than usual and if I didn’t know any better I’d say that he hasn’t been sleeping much either. Is losing his Quincy powers bothering him that much or is it actually effecting his physic? I don’t know much about Quincy stuff and I know if I point it out at him, he won’t tell me anything anyway so it wouldn’t be of any use for asking. He’d probably just brush it off. Perhaps Mr. Hat and Clogs might know something about it; I’ll have to remember to stop by his shop later.

“Sorry it took so long.” He answered in apology. He seems in a good mood, well if he isn’t I can’t tell. His paleness and tired face are the only things that are keeping my attention.

* * *

 

Our day of celebration wasn’t much of a day as it turned out. The sun was shining brightly, I couldn’t complain but by eleven the wind had died down and it became just too unbearably hot. After we finished eating our ice cream we tried to go cool off by the river but it didn’t turn out too good. Orihime and Uryuu couldn’t handle the heat very well and the sun’s rays were doing more damage than good to their skin. Chad didn’t seem to mind, makes sense if it’s true about what he claims to be from Mexico. He should be used to this kind of heat compared to all of us.

By noon Uryuu received a call from his father that he should go home, apparently the heat would just get worst and everyone should remain indoors to prevent heat strokes and I must say his dad was right. It actually reached almost forty degrees Celsius with no wind to help cool things down by the end of the afternoon. I offered Orihime and Chad to stay over since dad had an air conditioner installed in the house a year ago but both turned down the offer and preferred to go to their own homes.

I don’t want to imagine those who don’t have an air conditioner in their homes right now… I’m sure Uryuu’s home must have a cooling system. I wonder what’s going on in his head, I seriously thought that he trusted us more than that but I guess not. A few times I did on purpose to be with him alone, away from the others’ hear reach. I thought that maybe he wanted to talk one on one but the subject never came up. I wanted to bring it up a few times but if I’m the one who mentions it first, he’ll know right away that it was Orihime who had said something. He seems closer to her than to Chad and I so if I break his trust towards Orihime and if there is ever something serious that happens, he might not trust Orihime to confide the problem to her and that’s not good for anyone, especially with everything that is going on at the moment.

I’ve never been good at noticing small details. I’ll admit it’s one of my biggest flaw and frankly I’m not even sure if I’m simply just over worrying about Uryuu, maybe he’s always been like that and I just never really noticed it until now. Maybe he’s training to get his powers back and there are certain conditions that he must meet? I don’t know much about Quincies and how they work. They must have some sort of similarities to Soul Reapers right? I mean I was able to regain my Soul Reaper powers with Mr. Hat and Clogs’ training. Quincies must have something similar but in Uryuu’s case he’s alone so maybe that’s the problem. I had the guidance throughout my training but Uryuu doesn’t have that luxury being the last of his kind.

The last of his kind… Is he really the last? What about his parents, aren’t they Quincies? Damn I just don’t know anything at all to even try to figure out a solution to help Uryuu out. I keep thinking back at the river when his dad called him. His tone was neutral, I honestly thought it was some random person at first and was kind of surprised when he said that it was his dad. Well to be more precise in his exact words ‘his father’. He didn’t call him dad or anything while he was talking to him; actually I think he was more in a hurry to hang up the phone than talk to his dad.

His dad definitely had concerns for his son; he called Uryuu to tell him to get out of the heat for his own safety. Clearly he cares for Uryuu’s well-being otherwise he wouldn’t even have bothered calling in the first place. A parent who looks out for their kid should have a closer relationship with them but from what I saw it doesn’t seem that way. I wonder why, maybe Uryuu isn’t that normal like I first thought. Maybe he lives in a dysfunctional home just like us and that I’m more the normal one within the group. I hope not.

I look out the window the sun is starting to set. That’s my queue to head off to Urahara’s shop; the heat should drop quickly enough so it should be fine to go out now. Dad has been busy in the clinic today so I shouldn’t have any problems getting out of the house. He probably won’t even notice that I’ll be gone until I get back. Kisuke always seems to know everything; he should have some idea on how to help Uryuu. Knowing him, he probably already knows about his loss of powers.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Ichigo**

When I first met Mr. Hat and Clogs I knew that he was something else, he knew way too much about the Soul Society and about Soul Reapers to be just some regular guy. I knew when I started training with him that he had been a Soul Reaper at some point in the past when he introduced me to his Zanpakutou Benihime. Only thing was that I didn’t know why he was going against the Soul Society at the time, I just never expected him to be a former Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad but now thinking back. Was it really that surprising, somehow I should have seen that one coming from a mile away.

It’s strange how hot it’s been all day and the moment the sun goes down all the heat suddenly vanishes and you wouldn’t even be able to tell it had been a scorcher the very same day, only a few hours ago even. I honestly don’t mind the coolness of the evening, I really don’t. To be honest I’ve never been much of a fan of the hot seasons to begin with for the very reason that we can’t seem to get a in between. It’s either hot as hell, causing people to become severely ill or cold enough to freeze our balls off.

The Mitsumiya district is quiet like usual as I casual walk down the streets to Urahara’s shop. There are lights inside so I let myself in, going straight to the hall to go in the Urahara’s living area only to be a bit speechless. Orihime. Chad. The hell are they doing here?

“Ichigo nice of you to drop by.” Kisuke greets me in his usual sly cheerful tone. The hell, by his facial expression and how he’s using his fan to cover half of his face, it’s like he was expecting me to drop by… I should have known; it’s impossible to surprise the man…

“What are you guys doing here?” I blurt out the question without thinking much about it at first but it’s rather obvious why they would even come here in the first place. It’s not like I’d be the only one to think about coming to Urahara for some information in order to help Uryuu and quite frankly I can’t think of anyone better to go to so it would only be natural for Orihime and Chad to come to the same conclusion as I did.

“Never mind… Guess we’re all here for the same thing.” I add as I drag my feet to join them around the small table and take a seat next to Chad. This is kind of awkward, I was hoping to talk with Kisuke alone but we’re a team. It’s only natural that Orihime and Chad are also worried about Uryuu. He’s our friend after all, someone who we fought side by side with and if there’s anything we can do to help him, then we will…

Uryuu that idiot. He always has to try and solve his problems all by himself; doesn’t he even understand what friends are? Why can’t he just trust us for once…?

Awkward silence, great…

Orihime has been starring at the cup of tea that she’s been holding in her hands while Chad seems to only be staring blankly at nothing. Knowing him he’s just waiting to hear what Kisuke will have to say but honestly I didn’t think they would have bothered coming all this way, guess I was wrong. Maybe I should have told them my intentions about coming here earlier, I would have looked less stupid.

“Orihime filled me up on the situation about Uryuu losing his powers during his battle against Mayuri Kurotsuchi. Considering who he was fighting against, it’s remarkable that he came out victorious and let alone came back alive. In his back luck, he was still quite lucky.” Kisuke breaks the silence as he folds his fan, placing it inside of his robe.

By his tone I know that he wasn’t at all surprised about what had happened to Uryuu before we even mentioned it. Something tells me that Yoruichi was probably the one who filled him up about it or he simply made a conclusion himself either way, this wasn’t news to him.

After all the Chaos had settled down, during the week we stayed in the Soul Society I can’t say that I’ve met all of the Captains. This Mayuri Kurotsuchi is one I have yet to meet but from what I’ve heard it’s something I should be thankful for. By Rukia’s words, she says that he’s a very intellectual man and can even be called a genius but he’s more on the border line of madness; your modern day mad scientist in short. I can just imagine the battle Uryuu went through, I’m sure it wasn’t only physically harsh but it must have taken its toll on his mental state as well.

“Is there something we ca-”

“Honestly Ichigo and quite unfortunate, I don’t have an answer to solve that problem.” He suddenly cuts me off, knowing exactly what I wanted to ask.

How can he not have an answer? This is the guy that created this Hogyo-whatever that damn thing is called that Aizen stole. He’s a former Captain of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad and he even predicted Aizen’s betrayal, well sort of. If he was able to do all of that and that’s not even knowing what else he has accomplished, surely he must know something to help Uryuu.  

“Urahara can’t you give Uryuu a similar training that you gave me or something?” I ask.

Kisuke adjust his hat before turning his gaze on me. “I could try but Uryuu isn’t like you Ichigo. The training worked on you only because you had your own Soul Reaper powers but if I would try only a small fraction of the same thing with Uryuu, he’ll die.”

Die… The word itself feels heavy as I process it in my mind. Uryuu does have a great amount of Spiritual Energy that is without a doubt, not close to mine but still great enough but the more I think about it, I can’t help but feel rather stupid for even suggesting it. Uryuu and I, we’re completely different. The training worked because I had my own Soul Reaper powers lying dormant within me but that doesn’t mean that Uryuu has those said powers also.

“Have you ever asked yourself why Quincies kill Hollows, Ichigo?” Kisuke’s question caught my attention and took me out of my thoughts. I don’t even get the nature of the question, isn’t it obvious why someone would even try to destroy Hollows?

“I never asked Uryuu his reason for fighting but isn’t it obvious that it would be to protect the innocent!” I quickly answer back and knowing Uryuu, he wouldn’t be able to just sit back and watch while innocent people are falling victim to Hollows if he had the power to do something about it. He’d allow himself to get hurt if it meant that innocent people are safe and that is a part of him that I have much respect for. Now that he no longer has his powers, it must be so frustrating for him not being to do something about it anymore… He must feel pretty powerless right now…

“That’s one way to look at it but that’s not the only reason.” Kisuke adds.

What other reasons would there be to put your life on the line if it’s not only to protect the innocents? If it’s something about pride or something ass pathetic as that I’ll have to straighten Uryuu’s brain.

Kisuke adjusted his hat again, shading his eyes; after knowing him for a little while I’ve come to know that habit of his quite well. He always does that when he’s dead serious, it’s like his way of intimidating those he’s talking to or something to get them to listen to what he's about to say.

“Quincies have no anti-bodies to defend themselves from Hollows and everything composing a Hollow is pure poison to a Quincy. If a Quincy is eroded by a Hollow, not only does their Spiritual power weaken, but their own souls would be destroyed as well, and they would die. Uryuu wouldn’t be able to survive a Hollowfication like a Soul Reaper could. This is why a Quincy must eradicate Hollows; otherwise their very survival is at risk.” Urahara explains. His tone dead serious.

I didn’t know that. Rukia never said anything about that when she was explaining to me what Quincies were in the first place and hell Uryuu never even mentioned anything of the sort. Damn it! Just thinking back at that stupid challenge of his a while back, he deliberately placed himself in danger. Damn it Uryuu! Does this guy have some sort of fucking death wish or something? And if Hollows are basically pure poison to him, what was the Soul Society to him? It’s without a doubt that it’s not like the world of the living so could the environment of the Soul Society have negatively affected Uryuu in some way? Damn it!

“So what you’re saying is that there’s nothing you can do to help Uryuu?” I ask but I can’t hide my frustration in my voice anymore because I already know the answer to my question. Somehow if I ask, maybe by miracle I’ll somehow get a different answer but I know that I won’t.

“I’m afraid so.” Yeah… I was afraid of that… I give a quick glance at Orihime; her expression gives her feelings away. She wanted to help Uryuu too, she came here on her own and even Chad came out of his way but in the end we got nothing that could help solve the problem. It’s so damn frustrating; I can’t just forget the image of seeing how Uryuu was today. I don’t care what anyone says, he’s not okay. I know that something is seriously wrong with him and that worries me.

However, I wouldn’t count Kisuke out yet. He may not have the answer at the moment, but knowing him he’ll do everything he possibly can to find a solution. In the meantime all we can do is wait but I can’t help but have this bad feeling down my gut. The thought that maybe time just isn’t on our side. That Uryuu is in a more severe condition than what we believed him to be in. Thinking back at what Kisuke said about Hollows being pure poison to a Quincy. What if a Quincy’s powers help to serve as a layer of protection and without it they are completely vulnerable to a Hollow’s corrosion. What if what we’re seeing is Uryuu’s body starting to erode away, that he’s slowly dying right before our eyes.

After a while just talking we thanked Urahara, left and started making our way back home. Staying longer would have been pointless at this point; there was just nothing else to gain for now. Chad had to do something before going back to his place so I decided to walk Orihime home. So much has happened in such a short period of time. I met Rukia and in a life or death situation I became a Soul Reaper, everything changed after that. Orihime and Chad gained their own powers, we met Uryuu and then we went to the Soul Society to save Rukia and we did just that. Even though we accomplished so much, I feel like we haven’t.

“I’ll find a way to help Uryuu so don’t you worry Orihime.” I tell her breaking the silence between us but she doesn’t return a smile like she always does. She simply keeps her head low, just staring down at her feet as we walk down the empty streets of the Sakurabashi district.

“Huh? Oh yeah…” She seems deep in thoughts, so quiet that it’s strange for her.

“Something bothering you Orihime?” I ask the obvious question. Of course something is bothering her, she’s worried about Uryuu, we all are.

“I was with Uryuu when we ran into Captain Kurotsuchi back in the Soul Society. He chose to fight alone because I wasn’t strong enough; he wanted to protect me… If I had been stronger then Uryuu wouldn’t have been alone and he-”

“You did more than enough back there Orihime. Don’t blame yourself for my own incompetence, if there is someone to blame here it’s me. You guys did more than enough and besides without your powers Orihime, I probably would have died. Aizen did injure me pretty badly back there.” I tell her and basically it’s the truth. I don’t think she realizes just how amazing her powers really are. Chad, Uryuu and I; our powers can only destroy, what’s great about that but Orihime has the ability to heal and besides I don’t like the idea of her fighting anyway.

“Yeah… But other than that, I was useless. Uryuu kept protecting me over and over again, if it hadn’t been for him I would have died so many times… I was just a burden…” Her tone was low as she spoke, I can see that she’s fighting not to cry. I didn’t know that’s how she felt… Actually I don’t know how any of my friends felt during and after that mess in the Soul Society was over. I was a fool to think that they were all alright…

Chad received his defeat at the hands of Captain Kyoraku, leading to his temporary imprisonment until Kenpachi busted him out later in the conflict with Uryuu and Ganju. Orihime had her offensive powers damaged during her first encounter with a Soul Reaper right at the start of our invasion, because of that Uryuu ended up having to fight on his own. I know for a fact that he probably didn’t mind fighting for his and Orihime’s sake but I guess after not being able to fight and having to solemnly rely on Uryuu for her own safety, Orihime’s own pride was hurt. Chad hasn’t spoken about his own defeat but I guess he must feel the same way as Orihime does, maybe he feels that if he hadn’t been defeated he might have been able to help Uryuu in his own battle and prevented his loss of powers.

Chad sure is strong but when it comes to combat out of the two, Uryuu had more experience so technically giving him more of an advantage compared to Chad. So if Uryuu had to use everything that he had in his arsenal, I don’t see what difference it would have made having Orihime and Chad there to help him. Chances are that they probably would have been severely injured or worst killed.

“I’m sure that Uryuu never saw you as a burden and like I said before, you’re healing abilities saved my life. You and Chad did more than enough so please don’t worry anymore. I’ll find a way to help Uryuu so leave it up to me, everything will be alright.” I wish I was as confident as I sounded when I spoke those words but at least I got her to smile a little before I walked Orihime to her apartment door. 

I waited until she entered her apartment and I heard Orihime lock her door before walking away. I can’t even imagine what kind of parents she has, her older brother took her with him when he turned eighteen and they never even bothered to get her back. I know she’s supported by her aunt that is living elsewhere now since her brother died but isn’t she worried for her niece’s safety by living all on her own? I can only imagine my sisters being on their own, the very thought practically scares me. Before I even knew about the existence of Hollows, I knew there were monsters in this world; they just were hiding within a human being’s flesh. 

I pull out my cellphone and select Uryuu’s profile to get his number. It’s already nine forty-five, what should I do? Text or call? He’s so complicated to deal with… He seemed pretty tired today; maybe calling him wouldn’t be a good idea.

I quickly type my message. “Uryuu, you awake?” It’s simple enough. I flip my phone and place it back into my front pocket.

A few minutes pass before I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I take it out flipping it open, great he’s not asleep which is kind of surprising considering how tired he seemed or maybe I woke him up, shit.

“Yes.”

I need to see him and get him alone so I can talk to him and try to figure out exactly what’s going on but I don’t want him to be on to me either. Sometimes I really don’t think things through; I should have thought about that before I texted him first. Oh I got an idea and quite frankly it’d be a legit reason, with everything that has been happening I do need it.

“I was thinking, tomorrow should be another scorcher. Thought it be a good idea, I don’t know, do a refresher before school starts in September.” I text back.

I’ve missed a lot of classes before the summer break because Rukia kept making me go kill Hollows; it won’t do me any good if my grades suffer because of that. I ranked at twenty-three in my class this year. It’s not bad but I’d really hate for it to drop just because of my duties as a Substitute Soul Reaper.

My phone vibrates again, this time he didn’t take long to answer so I guess maybe he was just away from his phone before. “You want to study?”

“Why not, we’ll be stuck indoors anyway.” Was my reply to his question. Somehow it always seems to surprise people to hear that I actually take my schoolwork seriously. If I am to get into a good college or university after graduation I can’t afford not to. A low salary income isn’t really living at ease and comfort and with this unbearable heat wave we seem to be stuck with, now is the best time to get this done with.

“Guess so.” Uryuu doesn’t seem too talkative. Just answering my texts as simple as possible, not adding more words than necessary; it’s like he’s just answering just to be polite but can’t wait to be done with it. That’s the vibe I’m getting from how he keeps answering or I could be wrong, that I’m just over imagining things.

“So my place or yours?” I quickly type back only to face palm myself once the message was already sent.

Shit, my place isn’t the best place to be for both studying and trying to talk to Uryuu. Yeah my family, well mostly my dad is nosy but that’s not the problem at the moment. With this heat, the clinic has been getting a lot of patients lately and all of that ongoing vogue would be pretty problematic and not to mention Kon’s loud mouth.

“Doesn’t bother me.” A sense of relief takes over me when I got his reply a few seconds later… Great I’m safe, that was a close one.

“Come to think of it, my place could be noisy. The clinic has been busy with this heat wave. Your place?” I type back.

“Sure.”

Uryuu the hell is going on with you? This isn’t like you to just reply in short messages like that; actually you prefer talking than texting. Normally you would have called me the moment you had seen my first text but you didn’t. You’re such an idiot, do you think I wouldn’t notice or any of us wouldn’t?

“I’ll be there around ten?” I type back.

I starred at my phone a few minutes to the point the screen went black before it flashed and I saw his respond. “Alright.” Just alright, no see you tomorrow or anything. He’s such an idiot.

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Uryuu**

“Beep, beep, beep, beep…”

I hate that sound, it’s too early. It can’t already be morning… But I just fell asleep a few minutes ago, well it feels that way as I sit on the edge of my bed trying to shake the fatigue off me but it ain’t working much as I rub my eyes before putting on my glasses. I look at my beeping alarm clock on the night table right next to my bed, half past nine… I overslept; Ichigo is going to be here in half an hour, I better get up. This pounding in my head isn’t making me feel any better this morning either, I feel like this is going to be a very long day.

I went to bed at ten last night and it feels like I did an all-nighter. I went to bed with a headache and woke up with it still. Honestly I don’t want to be studying today; I don’t feel like doing anything at all other than sleeping and god knows that I need it badly but Rukia had asked me if I could tutor Ichigo due to him missing so many classes. She had asked me that favour the day before she was taken back to the Soul Society by Renji Abarai and his Captain. She again requested it before we left the Soul Society; it was like she wanted to make sure he wouldn’t have been affected in anyway because of her… Anyhow I couldn’t say no to her even though I wanted to but if Ichigo’s grades drop, I’ll kind of feel partly responsible because I’ll know that I could have prevented it.

I turn the alarm off as I get up, making my way to my bathroom. The cold ceramic floor on my bare feet kind of helps to wake me up as I stand in front of the sink. I stare in the mirror a few minutes with both hands clenched to the vanity for some light support. My red cheeks only serve to remind me of the harshness of the sun yesterday but at least I have a little bit of color now.

I brush my teeth and get ready as fast as I can manage; everything just feels like a major workout. I have absolutely no energy to do anything; everything has become just an overbearing hassle. Getting dressed is draining… I just want to sleep, that’s all I want, that’s all that I really need…

Already a quarter to nine, Ichigo will be here in about fifteen minutes…

I open the door and make my way downstairs and just my luck, Ryuuken is still here sitting at the dining table… I don’t feel like getting another lecture from him this morning, I have enough of just enduring this constant pounding in my head.

He takes a sip from his mug as he reads his morning paper like he always does every day before he goes off to work. I walk past him when I hear him shift slightly in his chair, here we go again…

“You’re not to leave the house today.” He tells me never taking his eyes off his paper but it’s more like an order than anything else.

“Fine…” I answer as I go into the kitchen. Not like I was going out today anyway, I didn’t even tell him that Ichigo is coming over so if he could just leave already I’d appreciate it.

“I’m serious Uryuu; I better not hear that you went outside today.” Does he have to talk so loudly this morning? He’s in the dining room and it’s like he’s right next to me, this damn headache is killing me. I know it will eventually go away but in the meantime it’s about to drive me nuts.

“I won’t…” I answer. Just leave already so I can have twelve hours of peace and quiet from you’re constant nagging…

“Follow the diet I have given you. Do I make myself clear Uryuu?” He orders back. That diet… Not the most pleasant thing to follow but it’s not like I have much of a choice at the moment.

I overslept so I missed breakfast so I guess for lunch it's going to be spinach salad… Great… I’ll be looking forward to that and as my punishment for oversleeping dried fruit and grapefruit… So exciting…

“Yeah…”

* * *

**Chapter 3.5**

**Ichigo**

Ah man I’m going to be late all thanks to dad and his fucking antics. Why the hell does he even do this to me every single day, like seriously who in their right mind would pounce on their kid while he’s just lying there sleeping? Anyway with all of that, I forgot to ask Uryuu for his home address last night, luckily Orihime had it so it saved me the embarrassment to message him for it.

Damn already ten fifteen but at least I’m finally here, only fifteen minutes late it could have been worst.

Fuck!

This is where Uryu fucking lives? It’s basically twice the size of my house and the clinic combined, if not bigger. Damn… Orihime said that I couldn’t miss it since it was the only house with a Front gate surrounding the property in the area but still, she failed to mention the size. What kind of job do his parents even have anyway? I wonder how Orihime even knew exactly where Uryuu lived, has she been over before. When I asked her a while back, she said that she wasn’t particularly friends with Uryuu but that she was in the handy craft club with him so that’s how she knew him a little but anyway it’s not like it even matters right now.

The front gate is wide open; it doesn’t look like they even bother to close it. Looks like it’s mainly just there for decoration I think. It’s almost embarrassing to invite him to my own home now knowing how huge his actually is; he’ll so laugh at what I have compared to this. I have to admit though Byakuya’s estate is much bigger but still, it is impressive to say the least. I’d like to hear Rukia’s input about this place; damn to think he was this loaded. 

The wide grey stoned walk-in that leads to the door has nicely trimmed thick rose bushes that go up to my waist on each side. The main driveway also has these same rose bushes on each side and surrounding the house. What is most eye catching is the strange color they are, the roses are two colors. The interior of the roses, the petals are dark blue but on the other side of the petal they are white. I’ve never seen roses like these before, I always thought roses are just one color and not two. They must have cost an arm and a leg, but looking at the rest of the house, the roses were probably nothing.

I make my way to the entrance; even the damn door looks expensive like hell. A white door with a large window with a delicate artwork in them and on each side of the door are these rectangular windows with the same delicate design giving the door a grand effect. Those white pillars supporting this large balcony make the house even more impressive, I can just imagine how the interior of the house must look like.

I ring the doorbell and go back to looking around. Uryuu sure lives in great comfort, how great it must be of not having to worry about anything. He’s living in this huge house made of grey stone and white shutters that anyone could dream of owning. I wonder why he never bothered to mention any of this; well yeah I don’t recall anyone ever asking him but still. I kind of understand now why Uryuu refused that I pay for his ice cream yesterday as my treat and gratitude for everyone’s help back in the Soul Society even though it wasn’t much. I thought he was just being an ass and was just too proud to take it but I was wrong I think.

Just like I thought, today will be another hot one, I appreciate the shade that the balcony gives but damn it’s hot. What the hell is Uryuu doing or maybe he didn’t hear the doorbell ring or something. I go to ring it again when I hear the door knob turn and the door opens but I’m not greeted by the person I was expecting. The person that opened the door is some old woman but by the way she’s dressed I quickly figured that she must be the household maid. With the size of this house, it’s not very surprising that they have a maid working for them.

“You must be Ichigo, please enter child.” Her voice is soft and doesn’t sound frail like I had expected from her. She looks like she could snap in half but I think that it be best not to judge her appearance.

She lets me in and yeah I was right. The inside is even more impressive than the outside. On my left leads to a large living area with large open French doors that serves to close off the room if need be and to my right is the dining room. I can’t see much since the French doors are closed at the moment and the door’s windows are half obstructed by curtains but I'm fairly certain that it must be grand. Stairs leading to the second floor lies in front of the main entrance and next to it on the left is a hall that must lead to other rooms at the back of the house or something. The flooring is hardwood and everything I seem to lay my eyes on has so much fine details, it’s really unbelievable.

I quickly take off my shoes, putting them near the other ones, out of the way of the entrance and follow the old woman up the stairs and down the hall to the left until she knocks at the first door before opening it.

“Your friend.” She says before turning away as I enter the room and there he is sitting at his desk. The hell is he eating? Ice? Okay it’s hot outside, it’s a valid reason but anyway it’s odd. He doesn’t look any better than yesterday but at least he doesn’t look worst except he’s got a little sun burn on his cheeks from yesterday’s sun though.

“Hey, nice place.” I blurt out as I give him a ‘hi’ gesture with my hand before putting my bag on the floor next to his desk and closing the door behind me. Out of all the things I could have said, I had to go with nice place. Way to go and put my foot in my mouth and end up looking like a total idiot.

“Thanks…” His tone is low and not energetic as usual, actually he had more life in his voice yesterday.

His room is easily twice the size as mine easily if not triple and from what I can see he even has his own bathroom. His room is big enough to have his own TV and a small two seated couch with a small table, a little like a mini living area. Uryuu has everything any teenager could ever dream for; he really does live in total comfort…

“Uryuu I can’t believe that you live in a place like this.” I blurt out as I sit next to him at his desk.

“Why’s that?” He asks followed by chewing the piece of ice he had been sucking on when I came in.

“No reason just that this place is huge.” I state the rather obvious. The place alone is almost overwhelming.

“It’s been passed down from generation to generation. It’s just old, nothing more than that.” His answer was more cold and uninterested than anything else. What’s up with him, I know he lost his powers but does he have to be in such a foul mood?

I take out my things from my bag and we start working on the various subjects we have until we came up on an essay I was supposed to write during the summer break and I had completely forgotten about it until now. I can’t tell if Uryuu is frustrated or just in total disbelief that I forgot about the assignment. It’s not my fault; I had so much stuff on my mind… That excuse wouldn’t be able to pass to save my life though, since he obviously didn’t forget about it.

Writing essays are the things I hate the most as summer assignments and to my luck that’s always what I get. It’s always about having to explain what we did during the break before September. In other words it’s just the teacher’s way of saying that she or he wants to know what we did while we weren’t sitting behind the school desk. It’s such a drag… In my case I have to make up more than half of it, I can’t exactly say that I went to the Soul Society and fought my way to save a friend’s life.

After a while, I gave a glance at the alarm clock on Uryuu’s night table. Already eleven forty-five… Thanks to that damn essay we haven’t made much progress since Uryuu urged me that it was more important than doing a refresher at the moment but since we started, he just can’t seem to focus at all. He keeps spacing out here and there, it’s not like him.

A knock at the door takes me out of my thoughts, making Uryuu jump slightly in his seat. The door opens only to reveal the old woman with a tray containing two plates of leafy greens in each topped with several ingredients that looked like chicken and other vegetables and two small bowls of strawberries.

“Thank you.” I tell her and she gives me a soft smile as she places the plates in front of us on the desk and then leaves leaving us alone again. I glance at Uryuu, he’s already started eating but not with much ambition. It’s either that he doesn’t like the salad or he’s just not hungry but either way it looks like he doesn’t have much choice than to eat it. Can’t say that I blame him either, it’s not even lettuce. Its fucking spinach, it taste so bitter and disgusting that it’s a wonder how anyone can love spinach at all.

“Is everything alright Uryuu?” I ask as I observe his actions but all he did was brush off the question that he was fine.

I know that he isn’t fine and now that I’m taking the time to observe him better, that look in his eyes. It’s something I hadn’t noticed when I first met him but now I do, there’s no joy in them at all and even now I see that he forces himself to wear a mask to hide it. Normally I know he’d be able to hide it completely if he was fine and the fact that he’s slipping only proves that he isn’t. He has everything anyone could ever want but even so, I don’t think Uryuu is happy or that he’s missing something important in his life.

I don’t get why he’d rather hide it than confide in his friends, is it some Quincy thing to rely solemnly on themselves or something? I know he’s prideful and all but still. Confiding your worries to people that you trusts isn’t a weakness unless Uryuu really doesn’t trust us at all. He did however confide to Orihime a little so I know at least that he trusts her to a certain degree but since she’s the one that spent the most time with him in the Soul Society it would only make sense. The logical thing for me to do would be to ask Orihime to pry him for information but I can’t ask her to do something like that, knowing Orihime it would only cause her more stress and unnecessary worries. I can’t do that to her.

What is a Quincy’s powers exactly. That odd charm bracelet with a cross he has in his right wrist, I know that’s the thing that materializes his bow somehow. When we left for the Soul Society he no longer wore the bracelet, instead he wore a white glove with a blue cross similar like his uniform so technically it would mean that he doesn’t need that bracelet per say to form his bow, that there are other tools he can use but exactly what happened to his glove? I know when we returned from the Soul Society he no longer had it… I think that glove is the very reason why Uryuu lost all of his powers; it’s the only thing that makes any sense to me right now.

I quickly reach for the cross charm dangling down his wrist just to see it closer when my fingers brush on his skin causing me to yank away just as quick. He’s cold. The house is cool, actually just comfortable but it shouldn’t be enough to make him this cold. 

“Uryuu, you’re freezing are you alright?” The words escape my mouth faster than what I could process in my mind. The way I yanked my hand away startled Uryuu more than the question itself but his facial expression didn’t change much.

“I’m fine… Don’t worry about it.” He says, brushing my question off again before eating a strawberry.

“That’s not normal Uryuu. You’re not okay; do you honestly think that I haven’t noticed? You look like shit, exactly what’s going on?” I shoot back as I grab his wrist, ignoring the cold skin touching my palm before he yanks it away from me.

“Like I said it’s nothing to worry about Ichigo.” Every time he tells me that, it just angers me even more. Damn it Uryuu I’m not blind nor am I stupid so stop playing this fucking game already is what I want to tell him but the frustration in his expression stops me from doing so.

“I know that you lost your powers Uryuu.” I blurt out and for the first time since I got here, his facial expression changed. He wasn’t expecting that and it just hit me in the face. Shit. He’s going to think that Orihime told me. I didn’t think. It just came out without thinking much about it in the spur of the moment when a thought came to me. I can’t stop now, I have to push it’s the only way I think I’ll get anything out of him. “I’ve known ever since we reunited back in the Soul Society that something was wrong with your powers. I didn’t want to approach you with it back then because it wasn’t the time and I thought it only would make you feel powerless if I did. I thought you’d tell us yourself but you never even tried to bring it up. The loss of your powers is slowly killing you, can’t you even see that?” I lied but I had no choice but to do it. It’s the only way I could think of that could save Orihime. I don’t care; I’ll take all the blame and pain on my shoulders because I’m mainly responsible for every one of them.

I keep thinking back at what Kisuke said, about how Quincies have no anti-bodies. How their bodies can be easily eroded by a Hollow and that is why they must kill them. He can’t be the only one to know about that fact, surely others in the Soul Society knew and yet they chose to exterminate the Quincies in the end. They couldn’t come to try and understand why Quincies had to kill Hollow; they had to protect themselves and those they cared about. Why couldn’t the Soul Reapers find a peaceful solution instead of going to such a drastic step, they could have if they had really tried. If they had then there would be other Quincies around, Uryuu wouldn’t be the only one and he could get the proper help that he desperately needs right now.

Uryuu let out a sigh as he pushes his glasses up his nose a little. “My loss of powers isn’t killing me, where did you get that idea?”

“Let’s see… You’re pale as fuck, you look like you stayed up all night, you can’t focus and you’re cold as hell. What other signs do you need?” I’m basically shouting at this point as I try to control the urge not to grab him by shoulders and shake him.

“You’re an idiot… I told you to stop worrying; you’re giving me a headache.”

Oh I’m giving you a headache; well you’re giving me a headache with the way you’ve been acting is what I want yell back but I don’t. Just watching him eat and act like it’s no big deal that his health is a major problem is driving me nuts.

He takes a sip from his water bottle before turning his attention to me. “Even though I don’t have any powers right now I can still sense Spiritual Pressure better than you can. There’s a Hollow not far.”

“Don’t be a smart ass. Where is it?” I ask but I don’t sense anything, how he can sense Hollows even before Rukia’s Soul Pager and my Soul Reaper badge is indeed impressive. Imagine if all Quincies were like that, Quincies could have warned the Soul Reapers in advance and the management of Hollows would have been much better and less innocent people would get hurt.

“It’s gone now, looks like Chad defeated it. You’re not the only one who can manage Hollows now Ichigo.” He’s got a point but still, I’m the Substitute Soul Reaper here. I don’t want Chad or Orihime to place themselves in danger, taking care of Hollows is my job and not theirs. As if I didn’t have enough on my plate, now I have Uryuu to worry about and he’s not taking my concern seriously at all. It’s so frustrating; of all people he should know better.

I sit back down in my chair and start eating my lunch I was given even though I don’t like it. “Uryuu we need to get your powers back so you can be back to normal. The fact that you don’t have any powers anymore is affecting your body so please take this seriously will you.” I voice out.

“Can you for once just listen to me Ichigo? I’m fine, it’s nothing to worry about and I’ll figure out on how to regain my powers when the time comes on my own. Just not right now. If you really want to worry about someone, worry about yourself Ichigo.” He shoots back not bothering to look at me as he spoke. He’ll work on regaining his powers when the time comes but not right now. Why not? I want to ask him but I know I’d only be wasting my time; he clearly doesn’t want to talk about it and will do anything to steer away from the subject.

“Alright then, I’ll trust your judgement.” I tell him not that I trust his judgement at the moment when his health is deteriorating right in front of my eyes but maybe if he sees that I trust him, maybe in return he’ll do the same.

 


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Ichigo**

I told Uryuu that I trusted his judgement, that was two weeks ago and I haven’t heard anything from him since. Orihime went to visit him a few times; she said that he didn’t look like he was doing any better than from the last time I saw him. I did message him a few times here and there asking how he was feeling; he always responded that he felt fine. He’s a fucking idiot and such a terrible liar.

I can’t believe that summer vacation is already over, those two weeks went by so fast. The first week was a scorcher and then we got hit by rain the week after and finally the sun came back out this morning but with all the rain we got and now with the sun’s heat, it feels even more unbearable than when it was hot and dry. I can’t believe that I’m saying this but winter do come soon, I’m sick and tired of being piss ass hot from this fucking heat.

This morning when I entered the classroom with Keigo and Mizuiro, like I had expected Uryuu was already in class sitting at his desk doing the same thing as he always does, reading a book and much to my dismay he’s still pale, still looks tired as hell and I can probably imagine that he’s still cold as ice like that time we were studying at his place. I was crossing my fingers that somehow he would really be fine but no, he still looks like shit. How can he just continue saying that he feels fine, it’s not what I see. Damn it’s not what anyone sees at this point.  

I casually make my way to my seat as I ignore Keigo’s crazy antics as I listen to the other classmates gossiping to each other about Uryuu, even they have noticed that something is wrong with him. Some are asking if that’s why he wasn’t present at the last day of school before the summer vacation since no one saw him all summer until now. I know it wasn’t the case back then; he was training to become stronger for when we would have gone to the Soul Society but if I had known this would have happened…

Could I have stopped Uryuu from coming…? No… He still would have come along no matter what I would have said. No matter what, there was nothing I could have done to prevent his fight against Kurotsuchi from happening. He knew what he was doing, the decisions that he made at that time was his own and not mine. He knew what the consequences of his actions would do and chose to do it anyway in order to hold victory. I shouldn’t have any guilt for what happened, we all knew the risk and agreed to move forward. I just can’t stand to see a friend and comrade this way. I think he even lost some weight since the last time I saw him.

“Alright class get into your seat.”

Miss Ochi’s presence finally got the class to become quiet, all the gossiping died down but here and there I could make out a few gossips still until it eventually died down when Miss Ochi demanded complete silence.

“We have a returning student! Please make her feel welcome!”

My eyes shot up when Miss Ochi said returning student. Even before my eyes fell on her I knew who it was and before I even realized it, I had a smile on my face. That soon huh…? Somehow I don’t mind and I think she doesn’t mind either as she takes back her old seat right next to mine. Rukia… I’ll assume that her Soul Reaper powers must have returned already. Two weeks, it was about time she showed her face again. I honestly don’t know why, I can’t explain it but I’ve never been happier to see Rukia. I guess I got used to seeing her every day for two months that it just became normal; it just wasn’t the same without her.

The gossiping started again once Miss Ochi started teaching but this time it was mainly related about Rukia’s return than Uryuu. I guess she must have altered everyone’s memories in a way like she had only left temporarily. I prefer it that way; it will look less odd between us, raise fewer questions since everyone is already used to seeing us together on a daily basis.

I feel my pants suddenly vibrate. I had almost forgotten about my phone in my pocket, good thing the ringer wasn’t on otherwise I would have been in trouble on the first day. I can’t afford to get into a jam so soon in the school term. I quietly take it out, making sure Miss Ochi doesn’t notice to see who texted me and it’s from Rukia.

“What’s with Uryuu? Is he alright Ichigo?” I look at Rukia before turning my attention back to my phone. I shouldn’t be surprised that she noticed. Apparently Uryuu is the only one who fails to notice that there is something extremely wrong with him.

I give a quick glance at Uryuu, he seems to be doing alright but he looks more like on the verge of falling asleep than anything else. He took off his glasses to rub his eyes and put them back on as if trying to wake himself up in order to listen to Miss Ochi’s lecture but I don’t think much is actually registering in that head of his right now though.  

“No there is something very wrong with Uryuu. I need to talk to you about that later.” I text back and look at Rukia as I hear her phone vibrate. She nods after she finished reading the text as her response. I seriously need Rukia’s input in this situation, I’ve run out of ideas and maybe she’ll be more effective and actually be able to talk some sense into Uryuu better than I could. He seems to listen more to what she says than I do so if there is someone who can do something it’s Rukia.

I turn my attention towards Chad; he’s not paying much attention other than what the teacher is saying. I switch to Orihime; she’s not paying any attention at all about what is being thought. She’s completely fixated unto Uryuu. She’s worried. I know she is and what makes it worse is that I gave her a promise that I’d handle it. That she didn’t have to worry anymore, that everything would be alright but it isn’t.

Uryuu said that he would figure out a way to restore his Quincy powers when the time would come but he wasn’t going to do it right now and that has been puzzling me for a while. Why not now? The only thing I could come up with was that maybe he can’t. Maybe he has to wait for a specific time… Who knows maybe he needs to do some sort of ritual or something on the full moon or the new moon, hell I don’t know! And what the hell did he even mean that I should worry more about myself? I’m fine, I’m the finest one here damn it! I’ve got everything under control!

Whatever… No point in getting angry about it. Obviously Uryuu is as stubborn as he always is, that hasn’t changed but I have no right to speak about stubbornness I’m just as bad as he is. No matter what we keep on pushing, it doesn’t matter what we get thrown at us we just keep going no matter what the cost…

No matter what the cost…

I’m sure Rukia will come up with something. She must know someone that can help Uryuu, someone that can make sense into this problem. Maybe Kisuke doesn’t have the answer but there must be someone in the Thirteen Court Guard Squad that knows something about Quincies. Rukia is from a noble family, she can push to get the answers. She could ask a favour from Byakuya or maybe the Captain of that Squad four, the squad that Hanataro was in. They specializes in healing maybe she might know something-.

“Uryuu!”

Orihime’s yell suddenly snaps me out of my thoughts like a jolt as my eyes snap towards her bolting out of her chair like she had seen something terrifying followed by a loud bang that sent the class into an uproar.

My attention quickly switched towards Uryuu and I found myself jumping up on my feet knocking my chair backwards in the process causing more of a ruckus as I bolted towards the knocked over desk that now laid on top of an unconscious Uryuu.

Shit, shit, shit, my mind is going into a frenzy and yet without a second thought I quickly lifted the desk to get it off him as Orihime slightly lifted Uryuu in her arms. Rukia was already inspecting Uryuu’s head and neck. I think he just fainted he doesn’t seem injured, I don’t see any blood. I don’t think he hit his head on another desk. Shit I knew he wasn’t fine. Damn it! My heart is beating like a drum; the adrenaline is pumping through my veins. Even though I knew something was wrong I didn’t expect him to collapse like that. Damn it, we’re running out of time!

“Alright class settle down!” Miss Ochi orders, trying to calm the students the best as she can but everyone is in a panic from what just happened. What the hell happen? Did Uryuu try to get up or did he simply lose his balance and tried to use his desk to support himself or what? I missed it but Orihime, she saw him and I can just imagine the thoughts that ran through her mind. He could have slammed the side of his head unto a desk and busted his head open. Worst case scenario he could have hit his temple, which could have been fatal.

“You four take Uryuu to the nurse. The rest of the first period is dismiss, now quietly exit the classroom.” She adds and by a miracle not a single one dare complain. Keigo who is always coming up with his lame ass antics is standing quietly next to Mizuiro in the back of the classroom.

Chad picks Uryuu up in his arms and we follow him out of the classroom as I give a quick glance at the other students. They’ve all backed away like Uryuu was some sort of disease like if they got too close to him they’ll get whatever he has. If it wasn’t for me taking the desk off of him, no one would have budged to help. Damn it.

Getting to the nurse never felt so long as it did now and to our luck she’s not even here. Chad carefully laid Uryuu down on the bed and we all took a seat and now the worst part, we wait.

Orihime is sitting on the bed next to Uryuu as she loosens his tie and unbuttons the first two buttons of his shirt. He looks even paler now than when I entered the classroom before class started. His health is dropping by the minute, this really isn’t good.

“Ichigo what exactly is going on with Uryuu? I haven’t seen any of you guys in two weeks and I come back to find Uryuu looking like he’s on the brink of death and now this happens. What on earth is going on?” Rukia breaks the unbearable silence. 

“Uryuu lost his Quincy powers back in the Soul Society and I think it’s killing him…” I can’t look at her as I spoke. I don’t have to; I know the look she’s giving me right now just by the pitch of her voice. She’s not in a good mood and she probably has a reason to be…

“Ichigo you’re jumping to conclusions. What made you come to that anyway?” Her voice dropped back to her usual tone but there is still some anger mixed in it though.

“It’s something that Kisuke said the other day.” Chad answers.

I look up to meet Rukia’s gaze when she asked me the question I knew was coming. “What did he say?”

I let a sigh escape my mouth as I rub my face with my hands before resting my head against the wall looking up to the ceiling. “He said that Quincies don’t have anti-bodies to resist a Hollow’s contamination. Anything that makes a Hollow is pure poison to a Quincy so maybe without his powers-”

“So in other words it’s just a theory?” She cuts me off but I can’t deny that most of it is just theory. I can believe what Kisuke told us about how Hollows are toxic to Quincies. I’m sure his information is legit but the rest he himself admitted that he didn’t have an answer. He doesn’t know if Quincies lose their power if it will cause them to die but like he had told me. It’s only a theory but it hasn’t been proven false either, we just don’t know at this point.

“Yeah…” I mumbled.

The clock ticking is the only noise filling the room as we patiently wait for the nurse to pop up until Chad decided to go look for her while we wait here with Uryuu. I’m sure we’ve been here for almost thirty minutes, what could she even be doing? Miss Ochi came by not long after Chad had left to check up on how Uryuu was doing. She wasn’t too thrilled that the nurse wasn’t here and went looking for her also.

Since our high school has a lot of delinquents, it wouldn’t surprise me that the nurse got called to tend a student somewhere in the school. She sure gets her money’s worth working here that’s for sure. Since I’m a prime candidate to get picked on by the seniors because of my hair color, I know all too well how busy she is around here.

“Uryuu…”

* * *

 

**Chapter 4.5**

**Uryuu**

“Uryuu…”

My vision is blurry and I feel so woozy, I can hardly see straight as my vision starts to get clearer after a few minutes. The first thing I see is Orihime’s worried expression over me and I’m welcomed with the same pounding in my head. It feels like it wants to split in half… My heart is beating so fast, it feels like I just ran a mile.

I hear footsteps coming closer and came to a sudden halt as I see that orange hair in front of me. Ichigo leaning on the bed’s footing and next to him… Is that Rukia? Yeah it is… When did she come back? I have a huge blank…

“What happened?” I ask as I rub my temple, trying to get this pounding in my head to calm down a little but it seems to have a mind of its own and just won’t let up.

“You lost conscious and dropped to the ground, caused the entire class to panic. You know the average things a ‘fine’ person does.” Ichigo states but it feels more like he was throwing everything in my face as he emphasizes the word fine. He seems proud of himself that he’s able to call me out on my lie in front of everyone, like he was waiting for that opportune moment knowing that I can’t deny it. However, his reward for that comment was a sharp slap in the back of the head by Rukia. Not that it did much, he took it without complaints. He seems to be rather enjoying himself right now…

“Sorry…” I manage to say after a few minutes. There’s no way I’ll be able to hide it anymore or talk my way out of it. Not after what happened but it wasn’t supposed to come to this…

“Are you going to stop pretending that nothing is wrong now?” He shoots at me again in that same tone as before but not without another hit by Rukia, this time right in the ribs; glaring at each other for a few minutes as if they were communicating with solemnly their eyes. Well it is to be expected from them, after all they have worked together for a while…

I wish this headache would just go away, somehow I feel like if it did I would feel so much better. Breathing is becoming hard to do, it’s like I have a huge weight on my chest crushing my lungs. It’s hot and yet I feel a slight chill…

“You’re right… As much as I hate to admit it, I’m not…” I’ve said it. Is that what you wanted to hear Ichigo well you’ve got it but I can’t bring myself to look anyone as I spoke those words. I should feel better now that it’s off my chest but I’m not. I feel like everything is crumbling down all around me and all I want to do is to disappear where no one can find me.

The thing is that I wasn’t pretending to be fine, I knew I wasn’t well but it’s not like I haven’t felt this way before so I didn’t worry much about it. It always goes away after a few days when I follow Ryuuken’s instructions but this time it hasn’t. It constantly lingers. It’s so frustrating but how do I say that? It’s embarrassing…

“Uryuu why did you wait so long to tell us you were not fine? We’re your friends, no matter what we’re here for you and you can tell us anything.” Orihime tells me breaking the silence but even if she says that, I know she means well but…

“I didn’t want anyone to worry…” I muttered but it was the truth. There’s nothing they could have done to help me anyway and it wasn’t like I hadn’t been through this already. It was just supposed to be temporary just like it always is… I should be feeling better, I should be back to normal by now but I’m not. I feel like everything is spinning all around me and I can no longer grasp to take back hold of reality.

“But Uryuu by not telling us anything it only made us worry even more.” Orihime adds as she reaches out for my hand but I just can’t face her right now as I pull away from her touch.

I don’t want to be pitied for my own weakness nor do I want to be looked down upon. There’s a limit about how pathetic I can be and I’ve gone over that limit for a while now. In the last week it looked like I was starting to feel better. The headache was gone by the end of the week, I followed Ryuuken’s instructions by the letter and I started feeling better and I honestly thought I was finally going to be fine until this morning. The headache came back, it was light at first so I decided to ignore it and come to school anyway but by the time I got here, the pounding suddenly got worst and then everything went hazy.

I feel my body is shaking, it isn’t cooperating nor can it make up its mind if I’m cold or hot. I’m angry, frustrated, maybe a little irritated and yet I feel like crying and I don’t know why, I don’t understand why I feel this way. “It’s just…”

“I understand Uryuu. You don’t have to force yourself; you have to focus on getting better okay?” Rukia suddenly cuts me off.  Her voice was soft as she spoke and somehow it helped but I just want to be invisible right now. I don’t want to be seen like this, I don’t want them to see me breaking apart as I fight to keep all these feelings in-check. It’s humiliating…

“Maybe someone should call your parents so they can come and get you.” Rukia adds.

“My father can’t leave his job on a short notice. On Mondays that’s when he’s tied up so he can’t come…”I finally manage to answer after I managed to calm myself down. Ryuuken is always busy doing surgeries on Mondays but even if he wasn’t. It’s not like he’d take time off to come and get me, it’s not like he’d even care…

“What about your mom?” Ichigo suddenly asks and I wish he hadn’t. It’s something that I don’t want to remember. Ryuuken doesn’t talk about it and I’ve learned not to mention it.

Mom was always sick; I don’t remember ever seeing her well… To be honest I don’t remember much about her but I remember that she always smiled even though I know she felt like crying. Next month will mark the sixth year of her death but her body had already died long before that… Her heart just hadn’t realized it until three months later.

“… No… She’s not around anymore…” I forced myself to say after a few minutes of silence…


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Ichigo**

Thanks to Rukia I didn’t get to pull out all the answers that I wanted to get from Uryuu back there. She technically forces me to shut the hell up, then tells him not to push himself and to take it easy just when he was about to say something that might have been important. Yeah I agree that he should take it easy and get some rest but we needed him to talk so we can come up with an answer on how to fix him.

What on earth did Rukia get out of just listening to the few things that he did say because I sure as hell didn’t get anything out of that? He admitted that he wasn’t fine, that he was sorry and that he didn’t want us to worry about him. That’s it. Yeah I get it that it was hard for him to tell us what he did manage to say and I’m sure her heart was in the right place but Uryuu was starting to talk after two weeks of prying him to say something. Rukia shouldn’t have covered him like that. Chances are because of what she did, we might not get another chance to get Uryuu to talk again.

Anyway, the school ended up calling an ambulance to come and get Uryuu and take him straight to the hospital. We couldn’t find the nurse anywhere and it turned out that she had called in sick and wasn’t even here in the first place; the secretary just forgot to place a notice on the nurse’s door to let everyone know that she was absent. Miss Ochi surely wasn’t in a good mood when she learned that piece of information and got even angrier when she couldn’t reach Uryuu’s dad to come pick him up so she had no choice but to call an ambulance and quite frankly apparently that’s not a good sign for the school. A student collapses in class with no school nurse to assist… Yeah that’s degrading, it would seem but I don’t get what’s the big deal though since this school has the most delinquents compared to any other high schools around.

Time sure goes by slowly when you want to be somewhere else. Thanks for the nurse not being here, we couldn’t use the excuse that we needed to go to the nurse’s office and skip class altogether so here we are just waiting for the last period to end. I seriously would like to know how Rukia managed to slip by without any of us even noticing but where did she go exactly? Could she have gone to the hospital to talk privately to Uryuu about his condition? If that would have been the case wouldn’t she have answered my texts by now?

Whatever… No use to keep wondering about that right now, she’ll tell me all about it when I see her which will probably be when I get home. Considering how she is, it be no surprise that she’d invade my bedroom closet again since I doubt it that she’ll have another place to stay anyway. How in the hell did she manage not to get discovered by my family for a whole two months will always be a complete mystery to me since she was technically stealing Yuzu’s clothes but then again they’ve failed to notice Kon so far and he’s been a pain in the ass so…

Thinking about Kon, he really needs to get fixed but considering how bad Uryuu’s health is right now I can’t ask him to fix Kon. He’s starting to get on the last bit of my nerves though but since Rukia is now back maybe that will help to shut him up in the meantime. He’s been whining since I got back from the Soul Society for Rukia so he better not complain or I swear I’ll choke that mod soul out of that stuffed piece of shit.

“That will be all for today.”

Finally, I thought this class would never end. Orihime already got up from her seat and is hurrying putting her things in her bag; I guess she has the same idea as I do. I waste no time putting my own stuff away as I listen to the gossip around me. Again Uryuu is the main subject, seriously someone gets sick or injured and it’s like a catastrophe or the end of the world. The thing that gets annoying with people’s gossip is that even though they talk about how bad it is that it happened to the said person, they don’t really care. It was evident when Uryuu collapsed on the ground and his desk had fallen on him. Others were closer to him than I was but all of them scattered away like he was the plague or something. No one did anything, for all they knew Uryuu could have hit his head when he fell, he could have been seriously injured but no one cared enough to even check to see if he was alright or that he was even breathing.

When Uryuu gets better and he comes back to school, he’s going to get a whole bunch of attention. Mostly from girls, they’ll act all sympathetic and sweet towards him. They’ll tell him that they were so worried about him but in truth it will only be to put on a face so they can soak up the attention themselves. Quite frankly it disgust me how people uses others for their own selfish gains.

“Ichigo! Come on time for some arcade!” Keigo declares as he comes up from behind me like a total idiot followed by Mizuiro who like always just watches Keigo’s antics, not stopping him nor encouraging him but is clearly amused by his antics none the less.

“Count me out; I’m off to the hospital to see how Uryuu is doing.” I tell him as I slung my bag over my shoulder, making my way to the classroom entrance as he follows me with his whining.

“Since when are you so chummy with Mr. Top of the class nerd huh?!” He blurts out like he always does. A real drama king at its finest, you’d think I never do anything with them but I know that he means well. He may act like a total goof but Keigo is a good guy. Most people don’t get along with him because of his hyper active behavior and over exaggerated expressions but he means well and the least he keeps things interesting in this boring school of ours.

“Does it matter? I’m off, you coming Orihime? Chad?” I brush him off as I turn my attention to Orihime who’s talking with Tatsuki and Chad who was still at his desk. Surprisingly enough Keigo didn’t try to further argue to get me to change my mind. Instead he turned his attention towards Mizuiro as he acts completely oblivious to him in return just to get a kick out of torturing Keigo as usual.

“Coming!” Orihime acknowledges as she bids Tatsuki goodbye for the day as she joins me.

“Go without me. I have to meet up with Harutoki and Gitano today.” Chad stated. Somehow it’s not very surprising but understandable since Uryuu ending up in the hospital was completely unexpected. I’ll just let Chad know if anything else comes up or whatever.

“Later then... ” I tell him before leaving the classroom with Orihime in tow. I quickly check my cellphone, Rukia still hasn’t replied to any of my messages. Where the hell did she disappeared off to? She just got back; at least she could have told me where she was going dammit!

Man it’s hot outside, makes me kind of wish that the school wasn’t so far away from the hospital and of my house. This heat that we’ve been having surely can’t have helped Uryuu’s condition, I’m sure if the weather was a bit cooler he might not have been so ill. This heat is draining my energy so for someone like Uryuu who has lost his powers, he’s already tired due to that so add this unbearable heat and we get a not too wanted mixture.

Our walk to the hospital was rather quiet; I don’t have anything to say to Orihime. I have nothing to say to help ease her mind, I already promised her that I would make everything alright but I wasn’t able to keep that promise so far. Uryuu is the one without any powers and yet I’m the one that’s feeling powerless.

The hospital is pretty busy today. Looks like a lot of old folks are suffering from heat strokes and others clearly from dehydration. The nurses are edgy and some don’t seem to be in a very good mood either. The one at the front desk sure as hell wasn’t. We just asked to know in which room Uryuu was in and it was like we asked her something extremely grand. In the end it wasn’t the nurse at the front desk that told us what we wanted to know, it was instead a small black haired nurse that told us that Uryuu was on the sixth floor in room six-o-three. We thanked her and made our way up to the sixth floor and in the process allowing us to get out of their way but when we reached the sixth floor it wasn’t really what I had expected. Compared to the first floor, the sixth is empty and completely silent.

“Is Uryuu really on this floor?” I ask as we get off the elevator and make our way down the hall in search for his room.

“Six-o-three, this must be it.” Orihime states as she opens the door and yeah there he is lying in bed dressed in the hospital’s green patient clothing. He’s got an I.V hooked on him and his heart and blood pressure is being monitored also and for a moment my eyes is just glued to his blood pressure. The hell, it’s so low. I’m no expert but I know enough because of my dad and that’s way too low to be good. With this heat we have, it only helped to lower his blood pressure even more, no wonder he fainted in class today.

“Uryuu, how are you feeling?” Orihime asks as we enter the room and I close the door behind me before taking a seat. Seems like Orihime hasn’t noticed the monitor’s readings or she’s just hiding her worries well.

“A little better…” He answers but to be honest he doesn’t look any better.

“You’re blood pressure is really low. Are you sure you’re feeling a little better? I can go get a nurse.” I ask but I don’t ask him why he’s been placed on this empty floor like seriously if something happens, there isn’t a nurse near him. Uryuu could die and no one would even notice like seriously what the fuck.

“No… It’s alright Ichigo. I’ve always had low blood pressure. It usually reads eighty-five systolic and sixty diastolic but since I got back from the Soul Society, my systolic number is stuck down to seventy and my diastolic to forty-five.” He explained with not much enthusiasm.

So I think I kind of understand why Uryuu wasn’t too worried about his condition when everyone else was. If he always suffered from low blood pressure, I’m sure it must have gotten this low before so to him it was just normal. However at this point I’m sure he knows now that something isn’t right. He seemed really upset before Rukia made him stop talking this morning. I didn’t get it back there but I think Rukia did. Uryuu has been trying to get better on his own, he must have followed specific instructions he had been given but it’s not working for some unknown reason. I can’t even start to imagine how that must feel like; it has to be frustrating to say the least… 

But… No one will be able to make me believe that it’s just that. Low blood pressure alone can’t be what’s making him this sick, there’s something else and I think I might have an idea what it is and I’m a fucking idiot for having missed all the signs. Tired as hell, pale and cold skin are symptoms of low blood pressure but there’s something else even more serious that has those same symptoms as well. I want to hear him say it from his own damn mouth.

“Is it because you lost your powers?” Orihime asks taking me out of my thoughts and yeah that sure can’t be helping him either but that’s not the whole thing.

“… No…” He answers after a few seconds of silence. “I lost a lot of blood before we went to the Soul Society but I was able to recuperate a little and I was fine but when I fought Mayuri Kurotsuchi… Well it didn’t turn out so good… I lost too much blood after that fight…” He further explained. That damn fight. I sure hope that Uryuu gave that fucking mad man a beating to an inch of his life that he’ll never forget.

“What else is there Uryuu?” I ask, more like blurt out catching Orihime by surprise a little and I’m sure if Rukia was here right now I would have gotten a smack to the head or stab in the ribs again.

Uryuu broke eye contact with me the moment I asked that question and instead looked down at his hands and for the first time I noticed just how brittle his nails are. I know what it is Uryuu; just say it and I think he knows that I suspect what it really is too. What other reasons would he have for not being able to face me right now?

“… I… I have anemia…” He muttered like he was ashamed of it. I think being anemic is more of an embarrassment than having low blood pressure to him. What an idiot, it’s not something he should be ashamed of. We all know that it’s not his fault or something that he has control over, some things are just beyond our control no matter how hard we try. It’s not like we would have thought less of him if we knew earlier, instead we would have been able to give him the proper support that he needed. “My body always had a hard time absorbing iron…” He adds almost in defeat.

That's what I thought but I’m a fucking idiot for having missed the obvious symptoms. Back at his house when I arrived, he was chewing ice. I knew it was odd and frankly people who suffer from anemia often have unusual cravings for non-nutritive substances such as ice but I completely brushed it off since it was so hot that day. That had been a dead giveaway but I completely ignored it. Truth is that I was so focus on the fact that he had lost his powers that I blocked out everything else from my mind, the cause for being sick was so simple and yet we all ignored it.

“Uryuu you should have told us that you had those health issues. If we had known, we would have been a stronger team. Why did you have to hide that from us Uryuu?” I ask but he never looks up to face me and simply continues starring at his hands.

I know he’s prideful, I get it but things like that are not something he should hide from his friends. If we would have known back then, maybe I could have done something to prevent him from getting injured like he did. I didn’t even try to find Uryuu back in the Soul Society because I was a hundred percent certain that he would have been alright on his own. I was even a bit relieved to hear from Yoruichi that Orihime was with him, I knew that she was going to be safe. That Uryuu would protect her no matter what. I shouldn’t have placed such a large burden on his shoulders, I got careless. It was my weight to carry; it was me that wanted to save Rukia. I should have been the one to fight the Captains.

“Because it always goes away on its own but…” He muttered after a few minutes of silence but it’s not all of it. Even now, yes he’s told us what’s wrong but he’s still putting up a face. He still has this wall between us that he refuses to knock down and I just don’t get it. Why doesn’t he trust us? He’s answering our question not because he wants to, it’s because he knows we have him cornered. He can’t go and use excuses anymore or even try to lie himself out of our interrogation. The moment he fainted this morning is the moment he got checked mate, there’s no point in denying anything anymore.

“It’s not going away isn’t it?” I ask the rather obvious question.

“… No…” He replied. His tone low that I almost didn’t hear him.

The door opening catches my attention as a man enters in the room and closes the door behind him. I’d say by the way that he’s dressed; he must be the doctor on duty today. He has this stern expression on his face with an ice cold stare. I’m starting to have a feeling that we shouldn’t be here.

“I was told that Uryuu had visitors although I clearly stated that he shouldn’t. He needs his rest.” He spoke and just like his expression, his tone is stern and cold.

* * *

 

**Chapter 5.5**

**Rukia**

I’m glad that I came back early, I was only due to return to my previous post at the end of the week but I felt like surprising Ichigo. After all, my powers recovered quicker than I had expected so before I got back to my duties I thought that I could drop by and catch up on what I missed. Brother even suggested that it would be a good idea for me to get adjusted before starting my duties again so I didn’t argue.

I really wasn’t expecting to see Uryuu that way though. It had only been two weeks and he seemed fine when he left to return to the world of the living so when I entered the classroom and I saw him I just couldn’t believe it, it was shocking to say the least. Ichigo didn’t know what was wrong with him either other than Uryuu had lost his powers but after seeing him that way, how upset and filled with anxiety he was I knew there was something else and I just couldn’t ignore it either.

Ichigo that idiot, he just had to keep pushing Uryuu’s buttons back at the school’s infirmary. His illness is clearly making him nervous and maybe even scares him a little or a lot but I could tell that it’s not something that just came out of the blue either. It’s something that Uryuu’s been dealing with probably all of his life but lately it’s gotten worst and somehow I fear that maybe it might have something to do with the loss of his powers. Either way, just the way he was acting I know that Uryuu has done everything he possibly could to get better on his own but his body is weak. I’d say even too weak considering how strong he must have become in order to defeat a Captain. His body should be stronger than what it is right now, he shouldn’t have any problems healing so why not?

I hate leaving Ichigo just like that without a word but this is something that can’t linger too long. Actually too much time has been wasted already; I can’t deny that I don’t know much about Quincies. Brother and Captain Ukitake did not have much knowledge about them either to be able to suggest a way to help Uryuu’s condition. However, I know only one place to get the answers that I’m looking for but I hate having to come here.

“Rukia Kuchiki, what brings you here I wonder.”

I didn’t even hear him creep up from behind me and like usual his lieutenant is silently behind him, following him everywhere that he goes. Even though she’s his own creation, his daughter in a sense he treats her nothing more than a dog. My brother might not have looked at me during the time I was adopted into the Kuchiki family until now but I was never treated that poorly. I never feared for my life, I knew that my brother would never place me in harm’s way on purpose but this man right in front of me… No, Captain Kurotsuchi can’t be called a man; he’s more of a monster than anything else.

“Captain Kurotsuchi if I may request that you come with me to the world of the living. Uryuu Ishida, the Quincy that you fought against is very ill, he has lost his powers and-”

“That won’t be necessary. I already have all the information that I need.” He rudely cuts me off as he makes his way to his desk. Exactly what does he mean by that?

It’s just as I feared, he doesn’t have any interest in helping Uryuu what so ever. Captain Kurotsuchi obtained what he wanted, he fought against Uryuu and learned all that he wanted to know about him and now for this man, Uryuu is no longer any of his interest. It doesn’t come as a surprise.

“What is that stare for Kuchiki? Do you believe that I would allow an enemy to walk away freely after having defeated me without some sort of surveillance on them for later usage? Of course not.” He quickly adds as he searches through some of his papers. What on earth is he talking about? What surveillance? Does he mean that he has somehow been observing everything that Uryuu has been doing up until now? If so he should be exactly aware of the situation.

“Uryuu isn’t an enemy he’s-”

“Yes, yes currently an ally of the Soul Society. Never the less I had already implanted the Quincy with surveillance bacteria. I’ve known everything he has been doing since our battle.” He cuts me off again and just like I thought but the exact kind of surveillance sounds almost unreal. He implanted some sort of bacteria inside of Uryuu’s body; surely this is a complete violation of the laws. I doubt it that the Head Captain knows about this but I’ll let that slip for now but I won’t forget to report it to my brother later.

“I need to know everything about a Quincy’s vitality. I know that Uryuu is suffering from an illness and I believe that he’s always had this illness but it’s like without his powers, it’s as if the illness is overtaking his body.” I explain my own theory, only to be greeted by his creepy grin as if stating that I’m completely wrong.

“A Quincy does not just awaken their powers later in their growth. Those powers do not lie dormant within their bodies until a trigger awakes them; no, they are born with these said powers. A Quincy’s powers are part of their very life force; they cannot live without them. If a Quincy loses their powers completely they simply die within days or weeks depending how strong the individuals are.” He states as if it’s completely nothing. Uryuu is an ally of the Soul Society, how could he keep such information when he was fully aware that he had lost his powers to begin with. Even more that he’s been fully aware that without his powers, Uryuu will die.

“Captain Kurotsuchi!-”

“The Quincy has not lost completely all of his powers which is rather remarkable I must say. If it had been the case that he had lost all of his powers for starters he would no longer be able to sense Spiritual Pressure which the Quincy still is quite able to do so and secondly he’d already be dead by now.” He cuts me off again as he lifts his hand as if to tell me to keep silence before continuing. “His body is weak and that’s all it is. He may look like he’s dying but the Quincy’s powers simply strengthened his body to endure the illness that he already had up until now but the body itself was always weak to begin with.”  

“Can his powers be restored?” I ask.

He gets up and goes to his computer turning it on and quickly goes through the files. Opening files after files about Quincy artifacts and among other things that I don’t recognize but surely it’s all related. So he’s been researching about this before I even brought up this problem so did he already had plans to find a way to restore Uryuu’s powers? If so for what gains would those provide him?

“After returning to my old archives. I came upon the name of the technic that the Quincy had used at the very end of our battle. A very powerful technic indeed called the Letzt Stil that allows a Quincy to go beyond their own capabilities at the cost of their powers. I never had the privilege of seeing this technic first hand before and believed it to be pure myth and casted it aside until recently.” He further explains.

To think that Uryuu was willing to sacrifice so much just to help Ichigo rescue me. If I had not been in that position at that time, this wouldn’t have happened. For that, I have to do everything I can to help restore his powers. Somehow… I don’t think Uryuu might be aware of the severity of his actions back then, what it truly meant for him to lose his powers that it would cause him his death if he lost them completely. What did I expect; he didn’t know any better… He did what he felt to be right at that moment.

“Can his powers be restored?” I allow myself to ask again. Surely if the Captain has been researching the technic that caused Uryuu to lose his powers, there must be something that can reverse or fix whatever got damaged. The Quincies must have something to help them recover; they wouldn’t create a technic if they could not regain what they had lost. Surely they can’t have been this reckless.

Captain Kurotsuchi makes a picture of a half-naked male Quincy appear on the screen. I can’t tell if this man is alive, dead or on the brink of death in this picture but what catches my eye is an odd scar on his chest. It’s in the shape of a pentacle…

“The only way for a Quincy to regain their powers after using the technic Letzt Stil it would seem that they must first exhaust themselves both mentally and physically, then be hit exactly nineteen millimetres to the right of their heart with a Heilig Pfeil. After this, a pentacle-shaped scar will form on the point of impact as you see here, and their powers will be restored.” He further explains. So this Quincy had lost his powers in the past before being captured to further Captain Kurotsuchi’s research… How sad, just how many received that fate I wonder and somehow I don’t think I want to know…?

“Uryuu is the only one left…” The words slip from my mouth in almost a whisper resulting in a sharp stare from the Captain.

“Must I repeat myself? Quincies are born with their powers. It is in their genes and where do genes come from I wonder?” His sharp voice catches me a bit by surprise before continuing “If the Quincy regains his powers, it will solemnly be up to the parents or more precisely his father to decide.”

That’s right… I’m a fool for even ignoring that fact. Uryuu mentioned that his mother wasn’t around anymore. This could mean that either she left them or that she died at some point in the past but why would Uryuu call himself the last of the Quincies if his father is also one. This claim would then be false or maybe there’s another reason but either way it’s been two weeks since he returned home and his father hasn’t even tried to restore his powers and it makes me wonder if he even intends to restore his son’s powers in the first place. If what Captain Kurotsuchi says is correct and that Uryuu hasn’t completely lost his powers then he will be able to live as a normal human but is that what his father really wants? That he’d rather see Uryuu ill and frail instead of letting him fight as a Quincy and actually be strong?

 


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Uryuu**

I hate this part…

Living with a chronic illness wouldn’t be so bad if it didn’t involve getting hospitalized ever so often. Being my father’s son, I always get admitted on the private part of the hospital on the sixth floor, getting nothing but the very best possible care anyone could ever ask for. It’s completely quiet, nothing to bother me and no one to visit me either…

It had been a while since the last time I had been hospitalized. Two years actually but the old memories of loneliness came back soon enough. Room six-o-three, the very same room I always get admitted to when I get hospitalized. It hasn’t changed much except for a fresh new coat of paint and new curtains but other than that, it’s still the same as I remembered it. I’m starting to think that Ryuuken keeps this room vacant just for me in case I need to be hospitalized again; even my own father won’t allow me to forget about my weakness.

I’m starting to feel a little better compared to this morning. My headache is still there but the pounding is much lighter and is actually bearable without the need of any medication. I no longer have a hard time breathing and my heart doesn’t feel like I just ran a marathon but I still feel tired, no matter how much I sleep I can’t seem to replenish my energy. I don’t have any appetite either, I have to force myself to eat otherwise I’ll get scolded by Ryuuken again. I’m not too worried about my appetite though. My metabolism always seems to go into slow motion when I fall into a state of anemia so I know that everything will go back to normal when that problem gets resolved whenever that will be… 

I wanted to sink into my bed and disappear when Orihime and Ichigo entered the room. I was just surprised that they knew where to find me considering I was not to have any visitors at all because of my unstable condition until further notice but it turned out it had all been a huge misunderstanding at the front desk it would seem and they were asked to leave. No, more like they were obligated to leave by Ryuuken.

Surprisingly enough Ichigo didn’t try to argue with him, I’m not even sure if he even recognized that Ryuuken was my father or not but to be honest I didn’t mind that they were forced to leave. Well to be honest I would have liked for Orihime to stay a bit longer but by forcing both of them to leave, I guess Ryuuken kind of saved me from Ichigo’s further unwanted interrogation but I can just imagine what happened to the nurse that broke protocol though. I can guess who it was also because the black haired nurse that had been caring for me since I was admitted this morning until after my friends left was taken off my file… I just hope she won’t get in too much trouble; she was really nice so I kind of feel bad that she got in reprimanded for such a petty thing.

I knew why they had come to visit me though, especially Ichigo. He wouldn’t stop until he had what he wanted from me. Orihime genuinely came to see how I was doing but not Ichigo; he simply came to pry for information. Well he has it now, not like it will do any difference that he knows what I suffer from on a daily basis, it’s not like he’ll be able to just magically make it disappear… Actually he was the last person that I wanted to know about my illness. He’s not like Orihime, I know she’ll understand and treat me the same as if nothing is wrong but Ichigo won’t, just like everyone else always does. That’s all he’ll see now, he won’t see me for who I am. It will all be the illness from now on…

Back in the Soul Society during his battle against Byakuya Kuchiki on Sokyoku hill I felt a strange change in Ichigo’s Spiritual Pressure. All of a sudden it grew intensively dark for a few minutes and just like that it disappeared and his normal Spiritual Pressure that I’m so used to came back.

He goes around and worries about me when he should be worrying about himself. His problem feels much worse than mine and the thing is I don’t think anyone felt that pressure or they are simply ignoring it. Whatever it was, it had a malicious aura about it. I’m not even sure if Ichigo is even aware of it or maybe he does already know about it but isn't taking it seriously.

The opening of the door takes me out of my thoughts only to find Ryuuken entering, closing the door behind him before making his way to the I.V, at the same time checking the readings on the monitor before he takes a syringe and injects a clear liquid inside the Serum pouch which I’m fully used to by now. He’s adding more iron to the serum mixture to give my body a needed boost.

“How long do I have to stay here?” I ask already knowing what he’ll tell me but it’s more to kill the silence than anything else.

“As long as I say so.” He answers as predicted before focusing on listening to my heartbeat and my breathing with his stethoscope. Doesn’t matter how many times I get check, that thing always feels like it was dipped in a bucket of ice when it touches my chest and back.

He puts away his stethoscope after he’s satisfied with what he heard and turned his attention to my face, telling me to look up as he inspects my lower eyelids followed by making a frown. I guess the color of my eyelids must still be pretty pale meaning that I still don’t have enough iron in my system. Ryuuken has been giving me iron dosage himself a few times since I arrived this morning, only little by little at a time so it doesn’t damage my liver but I guess it’s taking longer for my body to absorb the iron this time. Great that means he’s going to change my diet tomorrow so it’ll be more concentrated in vitamin C… He can give me whatever he wants, just not oranges, I hate them to death.

It’s always awkward when Ryuuken is around. He never talks to me other than give me lectures about how much time I’m wasting being a Quincy and that I should focus on saving the living instead of the dead or about how my grades are. For heaven’s sake my grades must never go below ninety-five or there will be hell to pay. He never misses his chance to scold me when he gets an opportunity and the only times he does talk to me is when I ask him questions but his answers are always short.

He must be content and proud that I lost my powers. When I got back home, he was working on the night shift so he wasn’t there but the next morning he knew right away that I had lost them before I could even say anything. He said that I was a fool for being so careless, that it was a fitting price that I should have to pay for having gone to the Soul Society in the first place; a place that I did not belong to.

He was quick to notice that my anemia had returned and my blood pressure had dropped considerably, I can’t say that it caused him any concern though. He just gave me strict instructions to follow but the heat wave we’ve been having hasn’t done much good to help me recuperate and when I got too much sun the other day it did its toll. I felt better when I was still in the Soul Society, the environment there was much different there than here. I’m not sure why but I’ll assume that it much be the concentrated amount of Reishi in the air that helped.

“How long before I’m allowed any visitors?” I dare ask.

He doesn’t look at me as he goes through my file that the nurse had brought to my bed side earlier after inserting the results of my first and second blood tests. “Not any time soon.”

I can’t tell if he’s satisfied with the results of my blood tests or not but I don’t have to ask him to get the information about them though, not like he’d even tell me much anyway. The nurse that cared for me was kind enough to explain to me the results which were something that she did not have the right to do it would seem but not like I’d snitch her anyway.

She told me that compared to this morning’s test results and the ones later this afternoon, I had gotten a little improvement but my iron level was still too low to be in the safe zone and apparently my vitamin B-twelve is also a little low which doesn’t really surprise me since it happened once before when I was younger. I think if I’m not mistaken it was when I was five or six, mom had stayed by my bed side a whole week until I was better that time. It had made the whole hospitalization much bearable and less frightening…

The thing though I wasn’t expecting was that apparently my glucose level is a borderline low at the moment compared to what it was this morning which had been much lower apparently. That would be great if plus my low blood pressure and my chronic anemia I would get diabetes to add to my list of health problems, now that would be just swell… The nurse however reassured me that I shouldn’t dwell on it, considering the heat and all its normal for my glucose level to be lower than usual and by the second test it showed that it improved the most so I do hope that she’s right. Ryuuken hasn’t mentioned anything as he continues reading the results in my file so I guess everything must be going like it should.

It’s no secret or a big mystery that I inherited all of my mom’s bad genes. I resembled mom the most when I was younger so I guess it was a given but the older I get, I see him more in me much to my dismay. The last thing I want is to look into a mirror and see the exact image of Ryuuken. The only time he’s ever been there for me was actually admitting me into the hospital and making sure I didn’t die. As much as I don’t want to resemble him, he couldn’t have given me something useful at least? All he gave me is his genes of poor eyesight… Better health would have been greatly appreciated but when it comes to genes parents don’t have much of a say in them which is kind of unfortunate though…

Mom comforted me when I was diagnosed with chronic anemia when I was six, she made me feel like everything was going to be alright and I believed her. I really did since my health problem was controllable with proper diet and frequent medical examination so I didn’t have to take any forms of medication but if things continue as it is I might not have any choice in the future.

One thing that was a big problem when I was a kid, I was a heavy bleeder. It always took a little longer for my bleeding to stop and I sort of still have that same problem but that’s probably connected to my anemia though. Anyway, mom was always with me when I had to get my baby teeth pulled out at the hospital to control the bleeding and making sure my anemia was under control.

Every time she was around, no matter how hard things seem to get or how bad it was she always made me feel safe, that everything was going to be okay… She made me feel loved, that I was actually wanted… She comforted me when sensei died; she was the only one that cared to console me… Mom was always there and then she… She died… The last person that meant the whole world to me was gone too…

I know I shouldn’t feel this way but I wish mom had lived and Ryuuken had been the one to die instead... I hate him and yet I love him, how messed up can that be? One thing is for sure, if I was ever to be diagnosed with diabetes or any other disease, Ryuuken would be the last person I should ever count on to receive any form of comfort from and strange enough I still want it from him. Just once, just this one time for him to tell me that he loves me and that everything is going to be okay. Just once, is that too much to ask for? I don’t remember the last time he told me that he loved me; I don’t recall him saying it even when mom was alive he never said it once… He never even gave me a hug, nothing… Sometimes I wonder if he ever wanted me in the first place because it wasn’t much of a secret that grandmother wasn’t too fond of me.  I wasn’t a pure-blood like my father; no I was nothing more than a dirty-blood like my mother, a shame to the Ishida household…

“Can I at least have my phone?” I don’t even know why I even bother asking. I’d be better off slamming my head against the wall.

Ryuuken lifted his eyes from my file to look at me; he doesn’t even have to say anything I know what he’s going to say. He has ‘no’ plastered right on his face as he turns his attention back to my file before placing it in the pouch next to the door before facing me again.

“If you have time to waste on a piece of electronic, that’s time you can use to rest.” He further lectures me as he turns off the lights and leaves without another word. The only reason why I have a phone in the first place is so he knows where I am at all times by locating my gps in my phone, that’s why he had called me the other day when I went down to the river. He saw that I wasn’t home, he wasted no time in ordering me to go back but he was right I guess not like I’ll admit it in his face though...

What am I even supposed to do when I can’t even fall asleep in the first place, it’s not like I can just close my eyes and bam I’ll fall asleep within minutes. I am tired but no matter how hard I try I just can’t fall and stay asleep, I keep waking up every few hours. I hate staying in the hospital to begin with especially at night. I wish that I could be on the regular floor; this private sector is completely quiet. I could hear a pin drop unto the floor; it’s the silence that creeps me out the most about staying in a hospital.

This room has pretty much everything. My own bathroom with a shower that I can’t really use at the moment because of the I.V being a bother, a mini fridge and a TV that does not work at this hour because Ryuuken wants me to die of boredom; everything but a clock it would seem. The only thing that’s helping me to figure out a little what time it is, is the sky turning crimson until the sun slowly vanished leaving everything into darkness with a light illumination from the full moon tonight.

Why is it that when everything is quiet and darkness consumes everything, all the memories that you’ve worked so hard to forget just come back in a flash…? I wish I had my phone; it would keep my mind occupied from overthinking… Thinking about my medical test results and the ones I will be taking tomorrow, my friends and what is currently going on right now in the Soul Society concerning Aizen. There’s so much to grasp at a single moment and without any of my powers all I can do is stand by and watch as everyone risk their lives to protect this world from the Hollows that keeps coming to feed on innocent souls.

Ryuuken can preach all he wants about how I should focus on saving the living instead of the dead but can’t he see that’s what I’ve been trying to do? By killing Hollows I am protecting and saving the living. I just don’t do it as technical in the sense as he does but I still managed to save so many lives. Why can’t he see it that way?

I don’t know why lately I feel so emotional, I’m not sad and yet tears just flow out. It’s so annoying and embarrassing, especially if there are people around. I have to fight the urge to cry and I hope no one notices that my eyes get watery for absolutely no reason every few minutes. Everything is just so confusing, one minute I’m happy and the next second I’m just so angry and to make things worst I can’t sleep and yet I feel so tired. Maybe I really am starting to lose my mind.

The sound of the door opening takes me out of my thoughts as I quickly wipe the tears that slid down my cheeks and try my best to dry out my eyes. Already time for the nurses to do their run check for the night… Much to my dismay, it’s not a nurse that entered the room but Ryuuken… What does he want now?

“It’s almost midnight, what are you still doing awake?” He asks more like he demands to know, not even trying to hide his discontent but then oddly his expression suddenly changed into a softer expression and yet still a bit cold. “What are you crying about Uryuu?”

“Nothing…” I quickly answer, turning my gaze towards the window to look outside as I feel the irritation build up inside me with each passing second. Ryuuken doesn’t seem to acknowledge my answer as he comes to my bed side which only further fuels the anger inside me as I blurt out for him to go away.

“Ordering your doctor won’t get you anywhere.” He calmly tells me in his usual tone and yet it’s just so irritating, more than usual somehow.

“Will you just shut up and leave me alone!” I snapped before I even processed and realized exactly what I had just said in my head as a chill goes down my spine.

I can’t look at him, I messed up, I know I did. Exactly what’s wrong with me? He’s not any different than what he usually is and yet the more he talks the angrier I seem to get. I can’t believe that I just told him to shut up but not once has he ever laid a hand on me, not even when I call him by his name but it wouldn’t come as a surprise if he would at any second now but nothing.

“Since this is your depression speaking, I’ll allow your rudeness to be excused for this once.” My eyes shoot up towards him almost in a jolt at the meer mention of the word depression. His expression still numb as ever, he doesn’t look angry or even phased in the slightest.

“There’s nothing wrong with my head! I’m not crazy!” I snapped back. Tears started coming down my cheeks again. I know I said that I felt like I was losing my mind, but I didn’t mean it. I’m not crazy. This is so frustrating, crying in front of the man who enjoys finding every bit of weakness that I have to use against me, to use to crush me into the ground.

“Depression does not equal as crazy. It is not uncommon for patients suffering from low blood pressure and insomnia to fall into a slight state of depression.” He calmly states.

I quickly dry my eyes with my sleeves as more keep coming before they eventually become dry after a few minutes. “I’m tired but I can’t sleep.” I tell him and it’s the truth. My eyes burn every time I blink and they feel so heavy and yet I can’t sleep.

“That’s insomnia. How long have you been having this problem?” He asks like it’s no big deal at all.

“About last week but it’s gotten worse these past few days.” I quickly reply.

I’m tired of getting all of these interrogations shoved down my throat. I just want to crawl into a small hole and never come out.

“And you were planning on telling me about these symptoms when exactly Uryuu?” He asks as I feel my anger boil up inside me again.

“I figured it was normal considering everything that I have…” I tell him after a few minutes as I try to control my unpredictable temper.

I was about to tell him considering what happened back in the Soul Society, about Aizen and what is to come but I bite my tongue instead. It’s not like he’ll care much about it anyway but I have to admit that all of that is very stressful and now including the loss of my powers and knowing that I’m practically defenseless against an Hollow attack isn’t helping much to relieve my stress.

“Normally when your condition is treated immediately at the first signs of symptoms, insomnia and depression do not occur however you started receiving treatment too late. Having trained for seven days and nights to master the Sanrei Glove was extremely foolish on your part. Not only did you drain your already weak body physically but also mentally. The wounds you received in the Soul Society along with losing your powers gave your body its final toll, you should be grateful that you are even alive right now.” He explains more like further lecturing and scolding me as he goes to the small fridge taking a water bottle out and then gives it to me along with two white pills that he expects me to take.

“You don’t have to keep lecturing me about it! I know alright…! When the time came I wasn’t ready and I went beyond my capabilities but…” I tell him after I swallow the pills and I take another gulp of water to remove the after taste the pills left in my mouth.

“But what?” He asks as he quickly checks the readings on the monitor. I can’t even tell if he’s even interested or just asking out of duty.

“I don’t have any regrets…” I admit.

I lost my powers, that’s something I can’t do anything about no matter what I do but strangely enough I don’t have any regrets. If I could go back in time, there’s not a single thing I would do differently. I fought against a lunatic in order to protect Orihime and I defeated the man that brutally tortured sensei and so many other Quincies in the name of his so called research. I want to tell Ryuuken that much but I can’t bring myself to say it. He was never very fond of sensei in the first place and I don’t know why, just like he’s not very fond of me but contrary to sensei. He sort of has an obligation towards me; everything he does for me isn’t out of love but out of duty. I honestly don’t think it would bother him to know that my grandfather was in a sense murdered to further allow a mad man to research our kind…

Ryuuken doesn’t tell me anything else before he walked out of the room and I start feeling hazy, my mind feels heavy. Those pills must be starting to take effect, I’m not sure what they were but it sure isn’t anything I’ve ever taken before. My vision becomes blurry as my head sinks into the pillow and sleep finally takes me.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Ichigo**

Already Saturday and I still haven’t heard anything from Uryuu. I’ve been texting him all week, almost none stop but he hasn’t replied to any of my messages but he hasn’t replied to any of Orihime’s either so I guess maybe that he doesn’t have his phone with him. Considering how the doctor that was on duty on Monday, it wouldn’t come as a surprise that Uryuu wasn’t allowed his phone to begin with but still… Uryuu must be dying of boredom by now.

I wonder how he’s doing though, the last time I saw him was Monday after school and he didn’t look too good. Okay maybe he looked a little better than when he had collapsed in the morning but he still looked pretty bad and his blood pressure has me worried too.

I had a talked with dad about people suffering from chronic anemia since I didn’t know much about how it could just occur like that. Dad told me exactly what Uryuu had said that some people’s bodies just have a hard time absorbing iron which then causes their anemias but this type of problem is easily manageable with specific diets. Another cause is the lack or iron in someone’s diet. That for one I’m fairly sure I can rule out being the cause for Uryuu’s but it’s the last one that dad told me that’s struck me the most. Bleeding… Uryuu could be losing blood due to something else in his body and chances are that he doesn’t even know about it and considering the battle he had with Mayuri Kurotsuchi, maybe he got internal damage or something and he’s actually bleeding internally…

I stopped by the hospital every day during the week on my way back home from school and every time I went to the front desk I got the same answer from the nurse. That Uryuu could not have any visitors at all. I even asked to speak with his doctor just to get some news about him, anything would have been good but I got nothing and it fucking pisses me off damn it! At one point I wanted to just go directly without asking for permission, I knew where Uryuu was but then it would have caused some unnecessary disturbance.

To make matters worse I haven’t seen or heard anything from Rukia since Monday morning either, I honestly thought I would have found her here in my bedroom when I came home but she wasn’t here. That’s just like her to take off on her own and leaving out a lot of the details; she could have at least told me where she was going before she left. Damn it! What was the damn point of even coming back to the world of the living in the first place if she was just going to leave like that without even saying goodbye? I didn’t even get the chance to ask her about if there could be a possibility of Uryuu regaining his powers or if she knew someone that could be of some help.

The only positivity is that the heat wave finally seems to have died down and passed. It’s actually starting to feel more like autumn is finally here which I really don’t mind at all. The cool air sure beats the heat any day if you ask me. Considering how hot it’s been lately, the temperature has dropped pretty quickly. I’ve been sitting by the river for the last hour and a half now and if I hadn’t put on a jacket I’d probably be regretting it. I didn’t think the air was this cool with the wind but it’s still morning so it should warm up a little later this afternoon but I honestly doubt it will do much of a difference considering how cloudy it is. The sun shouldn’t come out much today if I go by what I got on the weather channel.

“Hey Ichigo!”

I look over my shoulder at the mention of my name to find Orihime with her book bag hanging over her shoulder, happily waving at me. She sure is in a good mood today, I wonder why.

“Hey Orihime. What’s up?” I casually greet her as I get up, joining her in her walk with both hands in the pockets of my jacket to keep them warm a little.

“I’m going to the hospital to visit Uryuu; I thought maybe you’d want to come too.” She tells me with a smile, all excited.  

Is she serious? By her cheerful mood compared to how she was all week, yeah I believe her. So Uryuu messaged her or what because he didn’t send me anything… figures, it shouldn’t come as a surprise though, it be only natural for him to message Orihime and not me, after all she was the one he confided to about the loss of his powers in the first place.

“Uryuu texted you?” I ask as we continue walking down the sidewalk.

“No. I called on his phone after he wasn’t answering any of my texts but it was his father who picked up. I asked him if it be okay to visit Uryuu and he said that I could.” She answers excitedly.

Odd that Uryu’s dad would have his phone on him to answer the call or maybe it makes sense if his doctor didn’t allow him to have it but it was still nice of his dad to tell Orihime that Uryuu is cleared for visitors so that must mean that he’s finally starting to feel better which is good and about time too if you ask me.

Having been hospitalized a whole week, he just had to get better and besides dad often told me that the weather greatly affects the human body. Explaining why a lot of people have a much higher blood pressure in the winter season and lower blood pressure in the summer season. The cause apparently is the atmospheric pressure that causes it so since the climate has started to cool down, it should cause Uryuu’s blood pressure to rise a little and that in turn should help his overall health. Not to mention the health care the Karakura Hospital provides Uryuu had the best care he could possibly have.

During our walk to the hospital we mostly did small talk. Orihime asked me if I had heard anything from Rukia which I had to deny but that I was sure she’d probably would pop up any time soon. If Rukia had really left to get some information about how to help Uryuu, it would only make sense that she’d be back any day now. It surely can’t take that long to gather the information needed right unless there’s really nothing, I hope not for Uryuu’s sake. But… For Rukia to have left so suddenly, it can’t be a good sign. I sure as hell hope not.

The hospital isn’t busy at all compared to the first day we came. We asked the nurse at the desk if we can see Uryuu, the very same one that kept denying my request every time for the past week. She’s this short chubby middle aged woman with a few grey streaks in her hair, her expression isn’t too caring but she gives us permission anyway but I think if it had been up to her, she would have made us turn around and leave so fast.

We quickly make our way to the elevator before the nurse with the attitude problem changes her mind. Now that this place isn’t has crowded as before, I notice just how complex the halls for this hospital is. It’s fucking confusing; hell I wouldn’t want to be stuck in here if we needed to escape in a hurry and who actually made the design and decor anyway? White ceramic tiles with matching white walls and blue crosses designed. If you ask me it was a terrible idea.

The sixth floor just like before is completely empty except for the janitor who is casually cleaning, ignoring us as we make our way to room six-o-three. Orihime gently knocks on the door and she opens it when we hear Uryuu answer to enter.

“Uryuu! How are you feeling?” Orihime asks all excited as we enter and I close the door behind me. I must say, he looks way better compared on how he looked on Monday that’s for sure. He’s not as pale anymore and it looks like he might have taken a little weight, well took back what he lost actually which is good.

“Much better, thank you.” He replied as he closed the book he had been reading, placing it on his lap giving us his full attention as Orihime takes a seat next to his bed, putting her bag on her lap. I wonder why she brought it with her though.

I turn my attention towards Uryuu lying in bed in a sitting position. He’s not wearing the patient’s green clothing today, instead he’s wearing a white high collar wool shirt that kind of looks a little too big for him in my opinion. The sleeves almost hide his hands completely, I can only see his fingers down the knuckles but still pretty much form fitting but looser than his usual shirts and he’s got a pair of blue jeans on.

“Have you been cleared to leave already Uryuu?” I ask as I take a seat next to Orihime.

“Not yet but I’m supposed to be clear to leave later today so either way it’s my last day.” He confirms, so that means that he must no longer be anemic and since he’s no longer being monitored I can’t tell how his blood pressure is but he did say that his is normally low but anyway what matters now is that Uryuu is finally fine. I have to say what a relief.

Orihime suddenly started searching through her bag taking quite a thick pile of papers, notebooks and books that I recognize quickly enough as our school textbooks. “I brought you these as a way of saying get well soon!” She tells Uryuu as she hands him the thick pile eagerly and maybe a little too proud about it too. Sometimes I seriously wonder what goes on in her head; she can act pretty weird at times but still how in her mind is giving homework a get well present?

“Homework… That’s great Orihime.” He gives Orihime a smile as he accepts the pile of work, putting them on his lap.

I can’t tell if he’s actually really thrilled or just forcing it just so he doesn’t hurt her feelings but I have to voice my opinion on it, this is too much. “Errr no offense Orihime but when you visit someone in the hospital, if you’re going to give them something as a get well gift, I think homework would be the last thing to give.”

“It’s okay really, saved me the trouble to go get them so thank you.” Uryuu quickly adds in Orihime’s defense. Like seriously Uryuu I’m actually having sympathy for you right now and you’re not even acknowledging it. He’s such an idiot…

“Well…” She starts as she closes her bag, still with that same excited smile. “I did all of your assignments. All you have to do is sign your name.”

Okay I wasn’t expecting that and I don’t think Uryuu was either but none the less he seemed happy. Considering how down he was the last time I saw him, it feels good actually seeing him back to normal so I guess his illness really wasn’t related to the loss of his powers. Maybe I should have trusted his words a bit more…

I look around as Orihime and Uryuu have their little talk about things. Bizarre… This is the first day that Uryuu has been cleared to have visitors and oddly enough it’s his last day of hospitalization also. Even so, I would have thought that there would be at least a family member here by his side especially since today is Saturday but no one is here and from the looks of it I’d say no one even came other than us. Surely Uryuu must have other friends other than us right? I mean surely he wasn’t completely alone before I met him that would be impossible. You can’t just go to school and have absolutely no friends at all right?

Uryuu isn’t that bad of a guy when you get to know him. He mostly keeps to himself, doesn’t interact with our classmates much unless necessary and he is just typically quiet. He is however quite full of himself when it comes to being a Quincy. The way he said it the night we came back home that the next time we meet it would be as enemies and then proceeds on telling me that he’d see me later. Like seriously what the fuck Uryuu, you’re trash talking is so fucking terrible it probably wouldn’t even save your life if it depended on it. You don’t tell someone that they are your enemy and then tell them that you’ll see them later. Just like Orihime said that time; he thinks one thing but says the complete opposite. He’s just such a terrible liar and that is what makes him a fucking idiot.  

“Say Uryuu it’s probably none of my business but where the hell is your family? You were sick a whole week, I would have thought at least your parents would be here. I know you said your mom isn’t around but still wouldn’t she have come to see her kid?” I ask.

If mom was still alive and I would have been hospitalized she would have stayed with me until I was better. That’s what moms do; they hold their kids to give them strength when they need it. They don’t just walk away and leave them behind. Moms support their kids while the dads protect, that’s how families go. Well that’s how it should be…

Uryuu’s expression darken as he placed the pile of assignments Orihime gave him on the side table before turning his attention to me but he never looked me in the eye as he spoke. “It’s because she died when I was eight… A week before I turned nine actually…”

So that’s what he meant. Yeah… Now I feel like shit for asking that, I should have figured that’s what he had meant… I know his sensei who was also his grandfather died and I’m not sure about his other relatives but does that mean it’s only him and his dad?

“Sorry about that but what about your dad? Is he too busy to even see you or what? You were really in bad shape, seriously you could have died.” I add more like further putting my foot in my mouth from Uryuu’s expression but damn what kind of family does he have?

He let out a sigh as he stared at the ceiling. “He did what he had to do, nothing more.”

“The fuck Uryuu? You make it sound like your dad doesn’t even care about you?” I blurt out. Thinking back to how Orihime had called and it was him that answered. He took the time to answer the call and to give news that Uryuu could have visitors. If he didn’t care, he wouldn't have done that.

“Because he doesn’t…”

Did his illness cut a fuse in his brain or something? I’d be willing to bet that he must have had some sort of fight with his dad or something. Probably explains why he had Uryuu’s phone… So that’s how it is huh? He gets into a fight with his old man and he puts it into his head that his dad doesn’t care about him because of that. Shouldn’t come much of a surprise considering how wealthy he is. Uryuu is just your typical rich boy who got spoiled too much. If I hated my dad every time he attacked me in the morning, evening or whatever, I’d be hating him for eternity. Uryuu should be grateful for what he has, so many people I know would kill to be in his position.

“That’s bull and you fucking know it Uryuu.” I barked back at it.

“He hasn’t even looked at me once since my mom died so that sums it up pretty much.”

* * *

 

Well that wasn’t too pleasant, sure as hell didn’t go as I had planned. Turned out Uryuu’s father was the same doctor I met on Monday and that Uryuu was only being released after his dad’s shift was over. Uryuu didn’t talk to his dad nor did he try to talk to his son either. During the whole time we were there, not once did his dad look at him. He did his job but that was it. Just like Uryuu had said, he did what he had to do, nothing more.

We didn’t stay long once his dad appeared. He had those same ice cold eyes as before but now that I know who he is, I was rather dumb not to notice the resemblance. Uryuu looks a lot like his dad that’s without a doubt except Uryuu’s eyes aren’t cold like his dad’s. I don’t know if it’s because I have a good enough relationship with mine that I really find Uryuu’s just so strange.

So Uryuu spends his nights all alone even though his dad is around, from what I can recall he doesn’t have any siblings. I don’t even know if Uryuu even has any cousins. I can’t even start to imagine how lonely that must be to be living in that huge house all by himself…

The rest of the day was pretty dull. I offered to walk Orihime home but she stated that she had things to do and left in a hurry so I returned home where I wasted the rest of my free time. Dad took Yuzu and Karin somewhere, I’m not really sure where but it was about some event of some sort that both of them wanted to go so I had the whole house to myself for a change until they came back for dinner.

After dinner I just had to go out, I still haven’t heard anything from Rukia and it’s making me uneasy for some reason. Uryuu is doing better, actually I’d say that he’s going to be fine so that stress is now off my shoulders and yet I can’t help but have an uneasy feeling in my gut. There’s so much I don’t know about the Soul Society and its affairs. The hell is going on?

When I paid a visit to Urahara yesterday, he hadn’t heard anything from Rukia either nor did he find a way to restore Uryuu’s powers. Actually he wasn’t even aware that Rukia had even returned to the world of the living to begin with. He said that he had heard she was set to return on the coming Monday so why did she come a week early? That's just weird...

I hate having all of these god damn questions without having a single answer. Nothing is making any sense but I guess it beats getting chaos from Aizen.

Aizen…

That fucking bastard, the hell is he even trying to do and the bigger question is what the hell is the Soul Society planning on doing about it?

A commotion suddenly catches my attention as I walk by a dark alley. What the hell was that? I quickly glance at the combat pass; it’s not reacting to anything so I guess it’s not a Hollow. I know I should probably head the other way around but I just have to know what that was as I go through the dark alley with caution but what I found wasn’t something I was expecting. The hell is going on? A man just turned someone into dust somehow and all that remains is their clothes and for some reason I can’t move a muscle. It’s the shock, I know it is but what do I do? What the hell is he? A Hollow? No the combat pass would have reacted like it always does and it’s not so is he an ally of Aizen then?

The clothes of whoever just got turned to dust drops to the grown as the one responsible turns around. He looks human with normal features; short brown hair, which fans up at the ends, and a large goatee, dressed rather formally, wearing a white button-up shirt, a black tie, and a light grey vest.

“Humans are so inviting tonight. For a meer human, you sure have a delicious scent I wonder how you will taste.” He’s mocking me and yet his voice is sending chills down my spine. Is he human? He doesn’t feel human nor does he feel like a soul, what the hell is he?

“The hell are you?!” I shout back only getting a creepy ass grin in return as he reaches for an old golden pocket watch.

“You’re quite the loud one are you?” He adds as the pocket watch glows and takes on the form of a golden snake with dark brown stripes.  

The snake quickly cowls itself around the man’s neck and what freaks me the hell out the most is the voice coming from it. A chilling female voice saying that I should be crushed immediately to which the man agrees.

Damn it, if I use the combat pass right now I’ll be leaving my body exposed to this freak but if I don’t then I’m as good as dead. Shit! My best bet would be to run so I can hide my body and then fight but what about that snake. What is its power and what are his powers? He turned someone into dust only a few minutes ago, how did he do it? Shit!

“Ichigo! Get down!”

Without a single thought I dropped to the ground as I look over my shoulder, it’s Renji. What’s he doing here?

“Roar! Zabimaru!” He shouts as he calls out his Zanpakutou. Not wasting any time to attack the man causing quite the damage to the alley in the process.

I get up and as the dust starts settling down, the weird man with the snake around his neck is long gone. He must have retreated because of Renji; perhaps whoever or whatever he is was afraid of Soul Reapers or something. Whatever the hell that was, I can’t say that I’m not glad to see Renji for once.

“The hell was that guy Renji?” I ask as I go inspect where that guy had stood only minutes ago and all that is left of his victim.

I crouch to pick up the clothes that got left behind, sand still pouring out from the clothes… Dust that used to be human…

“I’m not sure but he must be responsible for the disappearance of humans lately. I was sent here to investigate the situation.” He answers, returning his Zanpakutou back to normal sheathing it back.

“Is it Aizen’s work…? The victim got turned into dust. Do you think it might be the powers of the Hogyoku?” I ask. There’s still so much I don’t know about that thing, about Aizen’s objective…

“I don’t know but I’m not going to waste any time dwelling here. I’ll report my findings back to the Soul Society immediately. In the meantime watch your back Ichigo.” He replies.

Yeah sounds like a good idea and with that he was gone. So people have been disappearing and I didn’t even notice but I couldn’t sense his Spiritual Pressure. He obviously could see Renji so he must have some but it’s different. How can I find someone that I can’t sense…? Damn sensing Spiritual Pressure was never my strong point. The only person I can think of that can sense Spiritual Pressure to the mark is Uryuu, the guy can actually sense a Hollow right before my combat pass reacts but no I can’t bother him with this. He just got out of the hospital and he doesn’t have any powers, I can’t place Uryuu in this kind of situation.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Uryuu**

The weekend had been rather quiet at home with nothing much to do all thanks to Orihime doing my assignments so I’ll sure have to make it up to her later and after being away from school a whole week it kind of feels good being back. Not being able to do anything is almost the worst and almost unbearable even. However, Ryuuken has been lecturing me practically none stop all weekend about my anemia coming back if I’m not careful, saying that my body is still weak and just a lousy mistake could get me back into the hospital in a heartbeat which is something I really do not want to happen again any time soon. Considering how Ichigo’s been concerning over my health lately it is best if I don’t mention that part to him even though it really doesn’t concern him what goes on with me but since Rukia is back all of his attention is all on her now so I think I’ll be good for a while until my body gains some more strength and I’ll finally be in the clear.

Orihime came to see me on Sunday and told me about how Rukia had just disappeared after I was taken to the hospital and no one had seen or heard from her since causing Orihime some concerns. I told Orihime that it was probably something to do with the Soul Society and that she shouldn’t worry about it. If it is something serious Rukia will tell us that’s without a doubt I’m certain of it and today here she is just like nothing happened and it doesn’t look like something is troubling her so it was probably nothing.

Today is just a dull day comparing to what Orihime told me about last week; it looks like this week will be a more relaxed one. Honestly I don’t mind, being able to enjoy the last few good sunny days left before winter really sets in will be nice. With my health having been in the gutting for a while, I wasn’t really able to enjoy the rest of my summer vacation and just relax a little.

The class has been given the rest of the afternoon kind off, technically meaning that we get to choose what we want to do for the rest of the afternoon. Most of the guys in the class decided to play sports while the girls are together and from what it sounds like I’m guessing gossiping is probably what they’re doing and then there’s Ichigo talking to Rukia with Chad not too far away.

I don’t know what it is but ever since I saw Ichigo this morning I just felt something odd from him. I feel as if something happened that I’m not aware of. He’s not exactly like he was when he visited me Saturday morning at the hospital. Maybe something to do with Aizen and if that’s the case no use expecting that he’ll tell me a single thing about it, it’s rather typical of him to do but he should be well aware that I’m not stupid. I’ll eventually figure it out so why bother to hide it anyway and not to mention he’s never been the best at hiding anything just like he’s the worst at noticing the smallest of things.

“Uryuu!” Orihime’s voice catches my attention and before I even knew it she was standing right beside me blocking the sun and somehow it gives her the appearance of glowing and I just can’t help but smile a little.

“Mind if I join you?” She asks in that same joyful way she always does as I quickly glance towards the girls going back inside the school and back to Orihime.

“What about your friends Orihime?” I ask.

“They’re off to do some club activities and you’re all alone, besides I don’t feel like doing club activities anyway!” She explains as she sits next to me trying her best not to look so obvious that she also wants to be with her friends but can’t quite pull it off.

“I’m fine on my own Orihime. You don’t have to feel the need to keep me company.” I tell her but part of me is kind of flattered having her here with me but I can’t bring myself to say it as I’m hoping that she won’t go but I don’t want to sound clingy in anyway. I like having her presence.

“I know but you know what!?” She quickly asks with excitement.

That’s Orihime for you, she’s too kind and sometimes people take advantage of her kindness a little too often. Yes I went to the Soul Society to help save Rukia but it wasn’t only for that reason and it surely wasn’t only because I had a score to settle for losing to a Soul Reaper. I just didn’t want Orihime to get hurt and in that short period of time I deduced that she doesn’t have any feelings for me at all but for Ichigo. That idiot doesn’t even see it but that’s okay, he’ll wise up eventually right so I’ll just keep my feelings to myself. It would only cause Orihime grief and besides I enjoy her friendship, even if that’s all I can have with her its fine with me as long as she’s happy and well that’s all that matters.

“Errr, no I don’t know?”

“That cloud looks like Ichigo!” She suddenly blurts out but I can’t see the cloud that she sees as similar to Ichigo though or maybe it’s just her way to change the subject either way it’s good by me.

“… I guess it does…” I casually agree with her.

I wish everyday would be this peaceful; it’s unfortunate that it won’t stay this way for long though. Not knowing when Aizen will make his move or how isn’t much of a good feeling to have in the back of your mind especially since I know there isn’t anything I can do as in terms of combat but maybe there are still some things that I can do, maybe…

I’ve been going through sensei’s old books, trying to find something that could help me figure out how to restore my Quincy powers and so far all I’ve managed to find is completely useless. I’m proud being a Quincy, I won’t ever deny what I am but not having anyone to guide me through the problems that I have at times is rather difficult. Everything that I’ve learned after sensei died, I learned it all on my own. I know if I had someone to help me train and harness my skills as a Quincy I’d be much stronger and maybe I wouldn’t have had to remove the glove to win against that mad man either.

Orihime hasn’t said anything but I sense that she’s somehow wary, like anxious about something. Chad is silently sitting in his usual corner but even he seems more tense than usual. Everyone seems to know something except for me. Without my powers I guess that I can’t blame them but still, they could at least tell me what’s going on exactly instead of keeping me in the dark.

Ichigo’s voice takes me out of my thoughts as I hear him call out to Orihime and Chad to come with him in a run before telling me to stay here before I can even get up, that I’d only be getting in the way if I come along. I do sense something in the distance but whatever it is, it’s definitely not a Hollow.

“See you later Uryuu!” Orihime tells me before following the others but her expression gave away a bit of concern and an apologetic feel as she left.

The school bell rings not too long after they left, at least they won’t miss anything with school finally over. I guess I’d better head for home before Ryuuken blows a fuse.

* * *

 

**Chapter 8.5**

**Rukia**

Everything seems to be happening all at the same time right into a frenzy, it’s starting to become rather troublesome like dealing with Hollows wasn’t already a problems as it is, now we have these so called Bounts to deal with and the worst part is not knowing if they are Aizen’s allies or not. Not to mention that there is still the problem with Uryuu having lost his powers and how to restore them, that problem still hasn’t been fixed. Fortunately though he feels and looks better but exactly what is his father even waiting for to restore his son’s powers? If Uryuu doesn’t get his powers back, I’ll have to do something myself. If his father won’t listen to what his son has to say then I will make him listen to me and if my words are not enough I’m certain my brother will lend me a hand in this matter.

I was about to return to the world of the living when Renji came back to the Soul Society explaining what he saw with Ichigo Saturday night. Apparently Yoruichi and captain Suì-Fēng have been investigating the same thing Renji was sent out on and apparently the beings responsible for the disappearances of many humans lately is due to what we call Bounts.

Urahara gave me a better explanation about what they are exactly and was able to provide mod souls to help detect these so called Bounts. Due to the short time only three were made and were given to Ichigo, Chad and Orihime in terms of protection and to better be able to detect these beings before they can attack us first.

If it had not been for Ichigo’s mod soul just now, I never would have known that one was close by. We can’t sense them like Hollows, their spiritual pressure is unusual. Ichigo told me earlier that even though the Bount was right in front of him, he couldn’t sense its spirit energy but he could tell that it wasn’t a soul but that it didn’t feel human either.  

Leaving Uryuu behind felt not odd but it just didn’t feel right, I know it’s better this way; that we don’t get him involve I know that. Without his powers we’d only be putting him in unnecessary danger since we don’t know anything about these Bounts. So far only two have been seen and that’s not even knowing exactly how many there are in the first place. Yoruichi and captain Suì-Fēng spotted a female Bount who was about to eat the soul of a man but failed. Renji and Ichigo encountered a male Bount but he had already devoured a human’s soul and from what Renji told me he was also interested in eating Ichigo’s so we better be careful otherwise we’ll be the ones in trouble.

It didn’t take us too long to find where the Bount was hiding, out in plain sight near a warehouse and I don’t like this feeling… Damn we’re too late. This Bount has already eaten three people; all that’s left is their clothes and a pile of dust, exactly like Ichigo had told me. Apparently when a Bount eats someone’s soul, their bodies turn to dust and that’s it.

“Who the hell are you!?” Ichigo barks as he draws his sword ready to battle.

Last time when Ichigo was face to face with a Bount he couldn’t do anything because he just couldn’t randomly discard his body in fear of it being damaged. This time we had Kon take care of Ichigo’s body and this time I won’t be just a spectator on the sideline either.

“Ah, the boy from the other night. I thought you smelled delicious, to think you were a Soul Reaper now I’m even more curious to know how you taste like.”

Such arrogance and rather disturbing how he just licks his lips in anticipation to eating Ichigo’s soul so I take it that this must be the same Bount Ichigo and Renji encountered two nights ago which is good since we know a little about this one. From what Ichigo claimed to have seen firsthand the Bount’s old pocket watch transforms into a golden black stripped snake and from Urahara’s information he gave us about the Bounts, the snake must be his doll.

I draw my blade, ready for anything this Bount might have up his sleeve. Although Ichigo saw the Bount’s doll he wasn’t able to see what its exact powers were and from Yoruichi’s own confrontation we know that two Bounts probably don’t have the same powers since the female Bount’s doll was a large humanoid in appearance consisting of hardened magma and flames. It had no legs, but fire acting as propulsion jets to move so I wonder what kind of powers this Bount’s doll possesses.  

The Bount reaches for his watch as he exclaims something in a language that I can’t understand but whatever he said activated his doll as it takes the form of a long golden whip almost twice as long as his body with a pointed tip. I thought Ichigo said that it took the form of a snake so what’s going on?

The Bount starts swinging the golden whip at random towards us causing damage to everything it touches as he constantly misses us as we dodge his every strikes. If we get hit by it, we’ll be in trouble-…

The snake Ichigo had spoken about finally showed up as it cowls itself around the Bount’s neck like it was nothing to him.

“Who the hell are you and what do you want in Karakura town?” Ichigo asks.

“You're noisy, aren't you? Food isn't supposed to talk.” He answers. His whip in his hand ready to attack again at any moment. From what I can tell, that whip looks like it’s part of that snake. It’s like a whip but it cuts like a blade and since his doll is a snake could it be also poisonous if it manages to hit us?

“Quit fucking around! Are you one of Aizen’s allies?” Ichigo further asks. His frustration is clearly getting higher. That idiot can’t he see that’s exactly what the Bount wants, he wants you to lose your cool Ichigo so you’ll make a mistake and drop your guard down.

“How about we start this off Frieda?” The Bount’s voice catches my attention as another voice responds to his question.

The voice has a chilling aura; quite fitting coming from a snake as its eyes glows red and what followed is something I only thought I’d ever see happen in a nightmare. Snakes, a bunch of large and small silver black stripped snakes suddenly took form from every cut he made earlier. So he wasn’t just swinging at random like I had thought, he did that on purpose so his doll’s power is to create snakes. I was expecting something more, how laughable if that’s all he has to offer this won’t be a problem.

Ichigo was the first to strike head on at the snakes followed by Orihime activating her Shun Shun Rikka, using her Santen Kesshun to shield herself from the attacking snakes causing them to turn into fragment of pavements. Chad destroying every snake that came attacking him like it was nothing and just like with Orihime they turned back to pavement once the snakes were destroyed so meaning these are just plain imitation but nothing too serious.

This Bount isn’t very powerful compared to the female Bount who used a fire based doll, this one only uses snakes so this should be rather easy to handle. The biggest worry I have his that whip of his so my best bet is to attack him directly but keeping my distance at the same time.

“Dance Sode no Shirayuki…” The words just rolling on my tongue so naturally, it’s been so long that I missed this feeling more than I had first imagined. The feeling seeing my zanpaktou’s dazzling transformation; holding my Zanpakutou out in front of me as I turn it in a circle counter-clockwise. As I turn it, the blade, hilt, and tsuba turns completely white while a long white ribbon forms at the end of the hilt followed by a rush of cold air in all directions.

“Some no mai, Tsukishiro!” I call out the power of my Zanpakutou as I hold my blade upside down as it starts glowing, signaling me that my Shikai is ready to be unleashed and my enemy is in range of my attack as I make a slashing motion.

I quickly draw a circle with the tip of Sode no Shirayuki and within that circle the temperature suddenly drops as a pillar of light forms causing the air to freeze into a large circular pillar.

I quickly glance around, good everyone is alright and have taken care of the snakes. I replace my attention back to the ice pillar, how disappointing…

“Woah! Rukia that was awesome!” Ichigo shouts as he runs to join me followed by Orihime and Chad. “What is it Rukia?” He asks as he sheaths back his blade on his back.

“Even though my Shikai was successful and I executed it flawlessly the Bount still managed to get away. The ice pillar didn’t shatter…” I explain.

If my technique had been successful the pillar would have shattered along with the Bount but since the ice pillar remained unscathed only means that he’s not in it, how embarrassing.

This Bount may not be as strong as the other one that was encountered by Yoruichi and captain Suì-Fēng but he sure is a tricky one and quite skilled at making a clean getaway. However even though he ran off, he’s not an idiot. He must have known that there was no way he could have won against us all by himself; it would have been only a matter of time before we would have cornered him. However, back when I called my Zanpakutou out I managed to get a glimpse of his eyes, there was something that definitely caught his attention and quite frankly it wasn’t the surprise of my attack.

“Rukia! He went that way!” Ichigo tells me as he starts running and I follow. We can’t let this Bount get away, we just can’t let him eat anyone else’s soul but what troubles me is that he initially was interested in eating Ichigo’s soul and yet something caught his attention. Something that would make him decide that Ichigo’s soul was suddenly no longer worthy; I have a bad feeling that keeps lingering down in my gut. We have to hurry.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Uryuu**

“I must say I was rather surprised that you dropped by Uryuu.”

We can all call bullshit on that but that would be rude on my part but the smile he gave me tells me that he knows I’m not buying it.

Kisuke Urahara the man that knows practically everything that goes on in Karakura town and somehow is aware of what goes on in the Soul Society at all times but that is probably all thanks to Yoruichi but still he is a master when it comes to gathering information. He’s also the kind of person who says something and yet you know he knows more than what he lets on. He’s shady and yet I don’t feel as if I can’t trust him for some odd reason.

“There is something that I wanted to discuss with you Urahara but I had some things to take care of first so I wasn’t able to come sooner than this.” I tell him and yet he doesn’t seem surprised at all, not that I was expecting him to be in the first place but he looks like he might already know what I want to talk to him about.

“Yes so I’ve heard… If you came here for help to restore your powers Uryuu, I can’t promise you that I will be much help. Trial and error I’m afraid.” Of course he knows about that, something tells me Ichigo must have told him about my condition. The loss of my powers well I’ll assume that he figured that out himself, he seemed to have noticed when we got back to the world of the living but he chose not to say anything about it which I still wonder why he didn’t say a word about it.

“No… I did not come here for that, I don’t think even you could help me with that…” I couldn’t help but lower my tone as I spoke. The loss of my powers is still a touchy subject, I don’t know how or where to start to try and regain my powers. I wish I knew other Quincies that I wasn’t the only one left… I have so many questions about Quincy techniques, questions that I’ll never get an answer to.

“You’re right with that but I would try training right back to the beginning and see what happens from there. If you want you can train in my sub terrain under the shop, if anything goes wrong you won’t be alone.” He tells me casually as he puts his fan away in his pocket.

Yeah I came to that same conclusion when I was in the Soul Society and I have tried it when I got back but that was a huge mistake on my part. I couldn’t even form a bow and the more I tried the more painful it got forcing me to stop. Forcing myself to form a bow put so much strain on my body that I ended up injuring myself. I had to listen to Ryuuken scold me so many times about how reckless I had been, I know well enough now that’s not how I’ll be getting my powers back. I need to find another way otherwise I’ll just get sick again.

“Thanks for the offer Urahara I appreciate it but I’ll have to pass on it.” I answered.

Honestly it be great to be able to train in a place where I wouldn’t have to worry about being seen by others or being bothered but our Seiren can only be done in one specific place and that’s the Fünft Feld. It can’t be done elsewhere and sensei never did tell me why, he just told me that it was important that I only train there so I never did question him any further about it. I don’t expect a Soul Reaper to know about that, well maybe that insane mad man would know maybe…

“If you change your mind, the offer still stands. So what is it you wanted to talk about?” Urahara asks as he takes a sip from his tea that Tessai has just brought us, thanking him as I accept mine.

“Well it’s about Ichigo. I’m not really sure how to put it into words and maybe you’re already aware of it. When we were in the Soul Society during his fight against Byakuya Kuchiki there was a strange Spiritual Pressure coming from Ichigo. It was dark, malicious even but just as it came it suddenly disappeared.” I explain the best as I can as I recall how that aura had felt in that moment.

“You’ve noticed, you’d be the only one who has or cared to mention but yes I’m very much aware about that. No need to concern yourself about that, it will be dealt with when the time comes. Ichigo will be fine; I knew this would happen right from the start.” He tells me so I’m the only one who approached him with this somehow it’s not too surprising.

I lightly blow into my tea before taking a sip; it still doesn’t make me at ease though. “It’s strange that it felt like that of a Hollow, am I wrong?”

“In order to restore Ichigo’s Soul Reaper powers he had to undergo Hollowfication and in that process he regained his powers but he also gained Hollow powers as well so technically making Ichigo a Visored in the process.” He further explains.

“Visored?” The word just blurts out my mouth. I’ve heard of Hollows and thanks to the small conversation I was able to have with Captain Kyoraku back in the Soul Society I learned about the various forms a Hollow can become but I’ve never heard anything about a Visored before.

“Let’s see how can I put this…? Visoreds are the opposite of Arrancars, Arrancars are Hollows that broke their masks in order to regain much of their former human self and acquire powers similar to Soul Reapers. Visoreds on the other hand are Soul Reapers who entered in a state of Hollowfication and survived thus acquiring powers similar to that of a Hollow.” He explains and it makes sense if Hollows can break their masks to acquire Soul Reaper like powers then the opposite should also be possible.

We know that Urahara used to be a Soul Reaper and apparently he’s the former captain of squad twelve and was the one who founded and was the first president of the Soul Reaper Research and Development Institute of which was taken over by Mayuri Kurotsuchi. There’s a lot of things that we still don’t know though like why is he no longer the captain of that squad and why was he banished from the Soul Society in the first place. Captain Kyoraku never mentioned anything about Urahara and I did not dare ask either, I felt like it wasn’t my place to do so. It would have been better if Ichigo had asked, I thought that he would have asked but he never did. 

“So there’s been Soul Reapers in the past that underwent Hollowfication but why?” I ask. If there’s a term for it, it must mean that it happened many times in the past which is not too comforting.

Urahara’s expression became serious as he took another sip of his tea before tilting down his hat hiding his eyes a bit. “No Soul Reaper would undergo Hollowfication deliberately on their own freewill. It was forced upon them and I’m certain I don’t need to explain the rest to you do I?”

“No, I get it…” I answer.

He doesn’t have to tell me, yes there are some Soul Reapers that entered Hollowfication and they must have survived so I’ll assume the term Visored was what he himself gave them. They were neither Hollow nor Soul Reapers. I think I can guess why Urahara was banished from the Soul Society now; it must have been because of Aizen. He must have done something to turn Soul Reapers into a state of Hollowfication, Urahara must have been framed for being the one responsible and the result was being stripped of his position and banishment.

Aizen sure caused a lot of trouble for so many, he technically destroyed the life of a man who did nothing wrong, well sort of from what I know of but I seriously doubt it that Urahara would ever deliberately do something to harm the Soul Society and the world of the living. If not for Aizen, Rukia might not have gotten a death sentence and none of us would have been involved and who knows, if Aizen had never gotten Urahara banished from the Soul Society, Mayuri would probably have never become Captain and all those experimentation he claims he did on Quincies never would have happened. I’m certain Urahara would never have allowed that to happened, he’s shady and cunning but I don’t think he’s the type of person who would torture people like that. I hope I’m not wrong but I highly doubt it that I would be.

I finish drinking my tea and thank him for giving me his time as I get up; it’s pretty much time I head home. Ryuuken’s shift should be almost over now, if I’m not home by the time he gets back I’ll get another lecture that I’m not in the mood for.

“Perhaps considering your condition it be best if Tessai accompanied you home just to be careful.” The request took me a little by surprise and at the same time it kind of annoyed me to know even Urahara would treat me differently because of my health and lack of powers. I came here on my own didn’t I? I can go home by myself too, I don’t need people treating me differently just because I have certain problems, I’m still the same person I was when they first met me a few months ago that hasn’t changed.

Quincies’ main weapon is a bow and arrow but they can also use other various technics in battle to help them defeat an enemy. How these technics are used and at what strength depend on the user casting those said technics. Since I can’t rely on my bow and arrows anymore I’ve spent my time mastering how to use Gintous to defend and attack. I was a fool to ignore using them sooner; if I had, my battles up until now could have been very different.

“No it’s fine, I’m not handicap for losing my powers I can still sense the presence of Hollows and if something does occur I can still defend myself a little just enough to get away to safety but…” I explain and the thought about everyone suddenly leaving so unexpectedly earlier, perhaps and probably Urahara might know something about this. “Lately I have been sensing something else I’m not really sure what it is though. It doesn’t feel like a Hollow or that of a human it’s hard to explain, I don’t think it could be an Arrancar right?” I tell him but by his expression it kind of answered my question, it’s not an Arrancar but his expression kind of puzzles me, for a slight moment he seemed confused himself.

“No one told you what’s going on?” The question was neutral and yet I could sense a bit of wonder in his tone.

“No, no one tells me anything anymore as if I’m just an empty shell of what I used to be. I know something is happening; Ichigo has never been good at hiding anything. Whatever I’ve been sensing lately I’m certain it’s connected.” I answer, his expression not changing and yet I sense a bit of disappointment, disapproval and a bit of curiosity in his eyes.

For a while now I’ve been sensing some strange Spiritual Pressure, they are kind of hard to detect since they seem to be all over the place. Constantly moving here and there and then just like that it disappears without a trace. When Ichigo and the others left I felt one of those strange Spiritual Pressure, even though I wanted to go with them I’m not stupid enough to put myself in their way and endangering myself in the process.

“Even without your powers you’re able to sense them… That’s interesting considering you’re the only one who can do so without the help of one of my mod souls that I’ve created but Quincies are different from regular humans and Soul Reapers. Since you can still sense Hollows, you may have lost your powers but your Spiritual Energy has not dropped so I advise you to be careful.” … Them? Who are them? He seemed surprised that I could sense whatever he’s calling them when he spoke and Tessai seems just as curious.

I stare at Urahara for a few seconds, waiting for him to continue but he never does. I let out a sigh before asking him if he isn’t going to tell me what they are but he doesn’t and instead insist that I come back later because he has something he wants to tell the group and he’d hate having to repeat himself. I guess I’ll just have to come back later, he’s technically telling me that he won’t be discussing any further on the matter so no point in staying any longer.

I thank him before leaving and I have to decline his offer of having Tessai accompany me again. Like I said before I can still defend myself in a sense so that should be enough to ease everyone’s mind. With that I head towards home when half way there I suddenly sense a sudden burst of Spiritual Energy, it feels like that of Rukia’s but much stronger with her powers having been restored and not long after that huge burst of energy a large pillar rose up into the air. By the distance and location I’d say it’s near the old abandoned hospital or the warehouse. Either way both building are close to each other.

What the hell is going on over there, Rukia must have released her Zanpakutou but still if whatever they are dealing with are not Arrancars then exactly what are they? Whatever they are, they are strong enough for obliging a Soul Reaper to unleash their Zanpakutou so they sure are not beings to be underestimated.

A noise catches my attention away from the distant pillar only to find a silver black stripped snake slither its way out onto the sidewalk. That’s odd though to see a snake in this time of year and I don’t recall ever reading about one of this color and yet there’s something about it that makes me uneasy. Best to leave it be and yet by instinct I reach into my pocket, taking hold of four small metal tubes in my hand as I resume my walk when I’m forced to stop again as another one stood only a few feet away just starring towards me.

“Don’t you smell rather delicious?”

I quickly jolted around as I took a few steps backwards not wasting time throwing my four Gintous I had in my hands towards the man that just appeared behind me as more snakes gather towards him. Without a doubt what I sensed earlier was coming from him.

“Feel the wrath of battle and accept this sacred chalice - Heizen!” I call out. The silver snakes that had come closer towards me suddenly got ripped apart by Heizen however the man just disappeared from my sight until I sensed him again behind me and before I could even move to defend myself something cowls around my legs and soon my torso before I realized that it was one of those snakes that had managed to take me by surprised it was too late.

This one however is bigger than the others and I can’t break free from its grasp no matter how hard I try to struggle. The cold skin of the snake’s scales on my bare arms is enough to send chills down my spine as it cowls itself around my neck to secure its hold, its head next to mine. Is it going to crush my body to asphyxiate me or bite me but this snake it doesn’t seem to be acting on its own, my guesses that it must be controlled by that man so what does he want?

“Ahh a blue eyed Quincy. You must be from the household Ishida am I wrong?” He asks as he brushes my cheek with his hand.

Who the hell is this man or exactly what is he and how did he know I was a Quincy and being able to guess my house just by the color of my eyes?

His hand goes down to my tie as he slightly thugs on the fabric to loosen it before opening my shirt slightly exposing my chest and I can’t help but struggle more to free myself to get away from him but to no avail much to his amusement.

“Thought so-”

“Uryuu!”

I’ve never been happier to hear that voice as I do right now. I try to look towards where the voice came from but the snake’s grip on my neck prevents me from doing so without causing pain or suffocation. I manage to only get a glimpse of orange in the corner of my eye, I can sense everyone’s Spiritual Pressure when pain rushes through my body as the snake’s grip suddenly tightens towards my legs and torso making it harder to breath.

“Let him go you fucking bastard! Didn’t you want to eat my soul?” What the hell are you doing Ichigo? You’re not going to be able to talk him into releasing me.

“You don’t interest me right now.” The man responded to Ichigo’s question and just when he finished talking I heard a chilling voice belonging to a female as I felt my whole body being pummeled to the ground as my head comes crashing down hard unto the pavement followed by a rush of pain as every sounds around became distant and all went black.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Ichigo**

That damn bastard where the hell did he fucking run off to? Thanks to Ririn we know exactly in which direction to go but still it’s such a hassle. From the direction that Ririn is guiding us it sounds like he’s going to my school damn it! He seemed so interested in eating my soul just a moment ago and now it’s like I don’t even exist. I don’t get how a Bount’s brain works, well his anyway.

A commotion in the distance can be felt as we get closer and I have Ririn basically shouting in my ear that the Bount is just around the corner and I have to control the urge to throw her off my shoulder. However, when I made that left corner I felt my gut drop and my inside just feels like they were being twisted.

“Uryuu!” I shouted catching the attention of the Bount in the process as I draw Zangetsu.

Damn it what the hell do I do? He’s just starring at us, mocking me with that fucking grin of his. I know he’s controlling that snake, if I attack him he might order that snake to crush Uryuu but if I don’t do anything then Uryuu’s soul… Damn it!  

I don’t think Uryuu can even manage to move in the slightest, that snake has got a hold of his neck and coiled itself completely around his entire body. It just needs to squeeze just a little bit and it’ll be enough to suffocate him or worst snap his neck and it’ll be all over. Uryuu’s muffled whimper mixed with gasp for air catches my attention as he starts to writhe in the snake’s hold as if trying to free himself without any success while the snake’s tightens its hold ever the more.

“Let him go you fucking bastard! Didn’t you want to eat my soul?” I shout trying to keep my frustration in check but my blood is boiling, I just want to tear that bastard apart.

“You don’t interest me right now.” He answered much to my annoyance as he returns his attention to Uryuu. Damn it! I want him to place his attention unto me just so he’ll momentarily forget about Uryuu. Then Rukia and Chad could be free to do something about that damn snake and free Uryuu-

The voice of his dolls fills the air as it coils itself around the Bount’s neck and just like that for absolutely no reason the snake holding on to Uryuu violently slams itself unto the ground causing Uryuu to hit head first into the pavement. A few seconds passed before the snake forces Uryuu back up in its hold with blood coming down the left side of his face no longer conscious. By the impact is he even alive?

“Why are you torturing him like this?” Rukia breaks the silence, her voice not hiding any of her own anger and frustration as she draws her Zanpakutou but she doesn’t do anything else. I can sense that she seriously wants to but if she does what will happen to Uryuu? However, that’s a question I’d like to know myself, he doesn’t seem interested in eating Uryuu’s soul and yet he won’t let him go either so does he really plan on using Uryuu as an hostage?

He brushes a hand in Uryuu’s hair and with a flick of his hand he wipes a finger into Uryuu’s blood before licking his finger clean and that’s when I noticed something I hadn’t before up until now. Uryuu’s tie and his shirt is undone halway, he’d never allow himself to be caught dressed so improperly. It doesn’t matter if he had been in a fight or not and I highly doubt it that fucking snake was responsible so it must be him that bastard.

Urahara explained to me what a Bount was the other night. How they can’t die no matter how much time passes by normally feeding onto deceased human souls but now for some sort of reason the Bounts have begun feeding on live ones instead. Although they aren’t exactly human, they do have habits and traits of a typical human. This one however has everything that I despise the most in certain humans. Yeah I’m not particularly close to Uryuu but he’s still a friend and I won’t allow anyone to defile any of them.

How do I make my move? Rukia hasn’t done anything; I think she’s trying to formulate a plan of her own without causing any more harm to Uryuu as it is. Damn it! He just got out of the fucking hospital… His anemia… No! I can’t think about that right now, there will be enough time to worry about that later but right now we have to save Uryuu but how? If we’re careless the Bount will use Uryuu against us.

I don’t like the look in his eyes as he plays with Uryuu’s hair knowing too well that he’s got us trapped. He knows because he has a friend of ours captive we can’t advance and he’s just taunting us. Like he's trying to provoke us by further touching Uryuu’s face, it’s as if he wants us to lose our cool so he can further hurt him. This Bount might not be particularly powerful physically but he knows how to torment his opponents mentally.

Balls of fire suddenly splatter all around us followed by intense jets of flame forcing the Bount to use his doll as a shield resulting in the snake holding Uryuu to dissipate as his body falls limp to the ground motionless.

I try to run to Uryuu to get him away from here but a wall of flames violently cuts me off and the fire surrounding us quickly intensifies.

I can barely see what’s happening around us but I managed to catch a slight glimpse of Uryuu in the arms of a brown haired woman and right next to her stood a large humanoid made out of flames. She must be the female Bount that Yoruichi encountered the other night but compared to the other one she seems to be dressed more casually and she’s definitely stronger than the other one as they exchange words but I can’t make out what they are saying. I’m getting the feeling that both of them might be Bounts but they aren’t exactly friendly towards each other so is that how Bounts work? Each on their own, no allies?

“Goetha finish things here.” The woman orders and her doll confirms the order wasting little time launching out more fire balls towards the male Bount and towards us also, followed by unleashing more jets of fire creating an inferno forcing us to move back from the blazing heat and then just like that, ever so suddenly the flames vanished and so was Uryuu.

I quickly ask Ririn towards where the female Bount had taken Uryuu but by the time the flames had dissipated she was already gone out of her senses. Nothing makes any sense, why did they attack Uryuu? Fucking damn it!

My eyes fall to the ground where Uryu hit his head, the pavement soaked with his blood. “Let’s split up, we’ll have a better chance finding Uryuu-”

“I wouldn’t recommend it.” That voice caught my attention in a heartbeat. My heart racing in my chest with all the adrenaline being pumped into my body, I can barely stand still.

“Urahara! Uryuu has been kidnap by the Bounts we can’t just stay still and-”

“And what Ichigo? All of you together couldn’t defeat a single Bount. What do you think will happen if only one of you confronts a Bount?” His voice was sharp and not filled with his usual easy going attitude. The piercing gaze he’s giving me feels like a blade stabbing right into my chest. I know that we had a hard time together but if we don’t do something Uryuu will be…

“Yeah but-”

“Do you think all of this could have been easily avoided Ichigo? Uryuu standing his ground against his attacker as if he had no idea what he was up against…” He slightly tilts his hat up instead of down this time allowing me to see his glare clearly in disapproval and slight anger. He knows, I can’t deny it either as I look down to my feet. Can’t face his judgemental look, I know it’s my fault.

“But-”

“You kept vital information from a comrade Ichigo. That was a grave mistake on your part. Not just Ichigo but all of you all chose to not tell a comrade a vital piece of information that could cost him his life. It did not matter if a comrade had powers or not you all shouldn’t have kept Uryuu in the dark no matter the circumstances. I recall advising extreme caution in dealing with the Bounts for a very good reason too.” His tone as he spoke was without a doubt disappointed but in the same time it’s as if he knew that this would happened and at that thought rage boiled up again and all I had been trying to keep under control comes spewing out as I lunge myself unto the man that trained me, grabbing the collar of his robe, his expression never changing with absolutely no fear what so ever.

“You knew Uryuu was in danger and did nothing! He’s gone because you did nothing to help him!” I yell as I tighten my grip unto the fabric in my clenched fists.

“You’re right I did nothing not that it should matter right Ichigo?” His declaration about not helping Uryuu even though he was fully aware of the situation only helped to fuel my rage. “You didn’t feel like you could trust Uryuu meaning you don’t see him as a comrade or even a friend so it be natural for me to cast him aside also right?” He adds and all the rage inside me starts to calm down as I lower my gaze.

It’s not like that, of course I trust Uryuu and he’s a valuable friend but… Without his powers telling him about the problem at hand would only have hurt his pride knowing that he couldn’t do a single thing to help. Knowing that there are humans getting their souls eaten and there would have been nothing he could have done to stop it. I didn’t want Uryuu to worry so he could focus on himself instead. That’s how we all felt, we discussed about it and agreed as a team, it was all for the best.

“I don’t believe that the Bounts are going to eat Uryuu’s soul, they would have done so the moment they had the chance and they didn’t but the fact that they are interested in him to the point of fighting each other only brings questions.” Urahara states as I let go of my grip of his robe as I apologize for my outburst.

Yeah I wondered why the male Bount had not eaten Uryuu’s soul or wasn’t in the process of eating it when we arrived. Instead he seemed to be more interested in defiling Uryuu and the female Bount just took him and ran off but why? And why Uryuu of all people and yet I feel Urahara has more answers than what he lets us on. He knows something that we don’t, something that could explain why the Bounts would be interested in Uryuu in the first place.

“Let’s return to the shop, we’ll talk there.” He tells us but it felt more like an order but none the less no one argued as we made our way to Urahara’s shop. As much as I hate to admit it, we didn’t win this fight not by a long shot.

The short walk to Urahara’s shop was quiet, everyone was deep in thought or none dare speak as we entered the shop. Like usual it was quiet which keeps me to wonder how Urahara can even make a living in the world of the living if he barely has any customers but knowing him he must have some secrets that he still hasn’t told us. The only thing that surprised me when we arrived was that Renji was already here waiting for us in the meeting room as what Urahara likes to refer to it. Rukia quickly filled Renji in about the current situation and about how no one knows what is to happen to Uryuu or where to even start to find him.

Urahara quickly briefs us about the conversation he had with Uryuu earlier before he was attacked which kind of explains how he knew that we hadn’t told Uryuu a single thing. It really shouldn’t come as a surprise that Uryuu would come here for answers if he suspected something was up, he wouldn’t be the type to pry for answers from people when he knew they wouldn’t give him any.

The thing that caught Urahara’s interest was that Uryuu told him that he had been able to sense the Bounts for some time now but didn’t know exactly what they were but he was convinced that whatever he had been sensing was somehow connected to whatever we were caught up in and I have to say Uryuu was right in assuming that but all of this information doesn’t do squat to help us find him. Ririn can sense Bounts but she has a specific range and after that she loses the trail completely.

“Track down Uryuu’s Spiritual Pressure that’s the only solution I can come up with.” Renji suggest and yeah I guess that is a good idea but I suck at sensing other people’s Spiritual Pressure. I’ll have to rely completely on the others to do it.

“Yeah but I can’t sense his Spiritual Pressure at the moment though…” Rukia adds.

Silence fills the room again as we think about various ways to find Uryuu but nothing is coming up. I glance around the room, studying everyone’s facial expression. Orihime is obviously troubled by the recent events; Chad is neutral but none the less concerned. Renji and Rukia are deep into their thoughts and Urahara well he hasn’t said anything since he told us what he had learned from Uryuu earlier.

Rapid footsteps are all we can hear as they get closer until the door is swung opened in all haste by Tessai. “A call boss, Uryuu is at the Karakura Hospital.”

* * *

 

**Chapter 10.5**

**Uryuu**

A throbbing pain is what greets me as I open my eyes, taking a few seconds for my vision to adjust so I can see clearly but the throbbing pain in my head remains. My eyes trailing around the room that is so familiar until they land on a white coat that I’ve become a little too used to by now that's when I finally realize where I am. The pounding in my head is what grasp my attention as I try to sit up holding where I hit my head covered in bandages but I quickly change my mind as I feel a bit dizzy from the sudden movement and I allow my head to sink back into the pillow.

“You have a concussion. You shouldn’t attempt to move for now.” Ryuuken tells me, placing my file in the folder. “You are fortunate that it was only a head injury when you could have been killed.”

Can’t argue with that… Not that I want to with this headache but I don’t think I’ll be able to avoid another lecture from him. How many times has he told me not to do anything that could worsen my condition but it wasn’t my fault but it's not like he’ll understand that.

Exactly what happened after I lost conscious? Did the others defeat that man and were they the ones who brought me here but if so I can’t sense any of their Spiritual Pressure nearby unless Ryuuken sent them away.

“You are a fool for going against an opponent that you were well aware of not being able to win.” He further lectures me like I’m some five year old kid. It’s not like I went to find trouble, it found me… I’m starting to think that maybe Urahara knew that I’d get attacked, as much as I hated the offer he gave me maybe I should have taken it.

“What was I supposed to do? It’s not like I wanted to fight, I had no choice I couldn’t run away?” I blurt out in my defense but almost regretting it afterwards when a wave of pain jolted through my head.

“That is exactly why you are a fool. You speak like an adult but it’s only talk, you act rashly without thinking in the long run.” He states.

I act rashly he says? I did the only thing I could think of considering my current abilities. Heizen was the only spell I could cast to attack; if only I had caught that man in the attack he would have been seriously injured and this wouldn’t have happened.

“Are you done?” I ask resulting in receiving a sharp glare in return.

“You got out of the hospital not even seventy-two hours ago, got attacked and ended getting yourself back in here. I’m far than done.” He recount as I can clearly sense anger in his tone as he spoke.

“My apologies for costing you so much.” I shoot back not even trying to hide my sarcastic tone as I turn away to stare at the window.

It must be a real hassle for him with my so often hospitalizations. Director of a hospital who is widowed and a son who goes in and out of the sick bed more times than I can remember. A real embarrassment it must be. A doctor who can’t keep his own kid healthy… Again it’s not like I do on purpose to get myself in here.   

“You could cost me thousands in medical bills a year and I couldn’t care less. The fact that you acted foolishly and resulting you getting injured that’s the problem.” His tone softens as he finished speaking.

I really don’t understand him at all… He constantly lectures me and scolds me every second he has and then out of the blue he says things like that, like he actually cares which is just bullshit. He never allowed me to see mom at the hospital before she died nor did he allow me to see her at her funeral. No matter how much I pleaded and begged for him to reconsider he refused every time. The last memory I have of her was when she just collapsed to the floor after she had just finished reading me a book in the study room. He didn’t let me see sensei as much as I wanted either even though he knew I loved grandfather so much. He never allowed me to have any pets to fill the empty void left by mom and sensei. His excuse for always saying no was because they had teeth. He never allowed me to have any fun or to be my own person…

“There wasn’t anything else I could have done…” I muttered.

“Instead of Heizen, you should have used Gritz on yourself. True that you wouldn’t have been able to move but your enemy would not have been able to break through Gritz’s barriers considering those were Bounts that attacked you.” How on earth does he know that I even used Heizen? I never even thought about using Gritz on myself as a defensive measure. It never would have occurred to me to even try and now thinking back I wouldn’t have been a sitting duck for long. Ichigo and the others would have arrived to assist. The thing is that I didn’t know Gritz could be used on myself, I only thought it could be used to trap my opponents.

“If only I had my powers-”

“I can restore your powers Uryuu under one condition.” My eyes jolt up to meet his gaze as he spoke. Still as cold as ever but somehow there’s something different, unlike the other times he’s actually really looking at me. “You are not to associate yourself with a Soul Reaper or their allies again.” He adds.

I should have known that it was too good to be that easy… How does he expect me to just cast aside the friends that I’ve made in exchange for my powers back? It’s like he’s forcing me to abandon them because without my powers I’m in constant danger. My Spiritual Pressure has never lowered making me an ideal target for Hollows. This is just cruel even for him; I can’t believe that he’s making me choose…

“Uryuu!”

Ichigo’s voice comes booming in the room as he opened the door and wasted no time entering followed by the others and Renji Abarai the last to enter so he’s back too.

“I expect to hear your answer when I come back later.” Ryuuken tells me before leaving the room in almost in a hurry leaving the others rather confused.

“What was that about?” Ichigo asks.

“It’s nothing…” I assure him. I don’t know how he’d react if I told him what Ryuuken had just offered me. I really want my powers back but can Ryuuken really restore my powers or is it just another way for him to punish me even more… He hates being a Quincy, he has never denied it and always refused to acknowledge our heritage and always discouraged me from pursuing this path so why all of a sudden he seems interested in helping me out.

“What the hell happened Uryuu are you okay?” Ichigo asks.

“Apparently I have a concussion but other than that I’m fine. I don’t know what happened after I got knocked out. When I came to, I was already here.” I explain as I try to ignore the constant pounding in my head.

“The man that attacked you was a Bount and things got complicated after you were knocked unconscious. A second Bount showed up and she was the one who took you away so she must have brought you here for some reason. Do you know why?” Rukia quickly recounts what happened.

“I wish I knew but that man, he knew I was a Quincy. He knew exactly which house I belonged to just by the color of my eyes.” The images of that man come back flashing inside my mind. He seriously creeped the hell out of me, I hope I don’t have to see him again but I highly doubt it. Even though I’m proud being a Quincy I have to admit that there’s a lot about the Quincies that I don’t know. From what that Bount claimed is that each Quincy houses had their own characteristics and the Ishida’s being our blue eyes. Maybe it’s true; Ryuuken, sensei and myself have blue eyes or maybe it’s just a coincidence…

“Uryuu I know it’s not my place to ask but does your father know something about these Bounts? He must be somewhat aware about what is going on right.” Rukia’s question takes me out of my thoughts and a little by surprise. It’s something I never stopped to think about before not that I ever needed or had any reasons to do so.

“Maybe but I’m not sure… He knew it was a Bount that attacked me but I don’t know exactly what he knows about them.” I answer after a few seconds of silence.

“I found out that there is a way to restore your powers but it requires another Quincy to do it. Your father is a Quincy isn’t he?” Rukia adds. Is that the reason why she left after I got hospitalized a week ago? I honestly wasn’t expecting her to go to such a length just for me and yet I don’t feel any excitement.

“Technically yes but… He wants nothing to do with being a Quincy since he says it’s not profitable so he allowed his powers to die out…” The disappointment in Rukia’s expression was hard not to miss so I’ll take it that the way to restore my powers must require the powers of another Quincy so I guess that’s the end of that I guess…

“The hell? No offense Uryuu but I think your dad has a few screws loose.” Ichigo blurts out followed by an elbow in the ribs from Rukia.

“Don’t worry, no offense taken…” Even though I said it and Ryuuken deserved that comment all too well I can’t say I was honest. I don’t know why but it kind of sparked a bit of anger although I don’t know why…

“Anyway we’re going to keep watch tonight Uryuu, I have a bad feeling that you are somewhat valuable to these Bounts somehow. I fear that they might come after you so we’ll be ready so don’t you worry.” Rukia tells me and I give her a smile as acknowledgement of her statement but it was more to hide my nervousness more than anything. I don’t doubt Rukia’s sincerity but if they were not able to defeat a single Bount even after releasing her Zanpakutou’s power then what are the chances that they’ll be able to stop them if they decide to attack?

I don’t know why but I kind of wish Ryuuken wouldn’t have left… Somehow I feel like I’m here right now because of him…

 

 


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**Uryuu**

I thought there was absolutely no way that I could get a headache worse than what I’ve had a week ago but I’ve been proven wrong much to my dismay. This constant pounding in my head is going to drive me insane and to make matters worse Ichigo decided to bring a beat up and mangled Kon in the room with us. He just won’t keep quiet. However, Ichigo and Rukia aren’t making things any better either by constantly bickering with each other which only helps to intensify the pain in my head.

I understand why he brought Kon in here though and why both of them are in the room with me while the others are in the lobby. I get it but must they be this loud? At this rate the Bounts will be the ones giving us the surprise attack if they keep this up. You’d think that they are a bunch of pre-schoolers or something; you wouldn’t even be able to tell that Rukia is easily three times our age when she gets into these arguments with Ichigo.

Ichigo doesn’t feel at ease using the combat pass to get his soul out of his body, he doesn’t like the idea of leaving his body unattended and defenseless not knowing what the Bounts could do to it so that’s the only reason why Kon is here but I seriously wonder what happened to it. The stuffing is coming out of its arm and head, I can see that someone tried to sew him up but did a rather poor job as new tears were made due to neglect.

A knock on the door catches our attention and Kon quickly goes stuffed on the bed as the nurse entered to give me my medication for the pain and finally both Rukia and Ichigo went quiet. The nurse explained to me the basic things if I needed them that all I had to do was to call and someone would come up right away. She further explained what my room had which I already knew before giving me a cup of water and a smaller cup containing the medication for me to take.

I hate taking medication, I can’t never get used to the aftertaste the pills leave in the back of my mouth and the amount of water in the cup she provided is not even close to drown the taste, only enough to get the two pills to go down my throat.

I give the empty cups back to the nurse before she leaves the room and all is quiet. Surprisingly Ichigo and Rukia didn’t start bickering again once the door closed which I really don’t mind. Kon started moving again and even he was rather quiet.

The dizzy spells haven’t left me since I regained consciousness, they come and go and it’s rather embarrassing when I have to get up to go to the bathroom. More than once I needed help to keep my balance just so I didn’t fall over. It’s the first time I have a concussion and it’s making me feel really strange. I feel so unbalanced and there’s a constant ringing in my ears. The nurse earlier said it was probably due to a damaged eardrum but that it wasn’t busted or anything just that I got hit to the head really hard. By all means I really am lucky to still be alive, lucky that I haven’t forgotten any of my memories or became brain dead.

“Uryuu you should get some sleep. We might have a long night ahead of us so you should get some rest while you can.” Rukia tells me breaking the silence. She has a point but it’s easier said than done in my case though.

“Kind of hard to fall asleep with this constant pounding in my head.” I reply as I try ignoring this constant pain and the hitching of the stitches needed to close the wound on my head. Apparently I needed a total of six stitches to close my busted head and thanks to Ryuuken he was able to give me treatment so my anemia doesn’t set in so I should be fine. Ryuuken is a lot of things but when it comes to doing his job… Well, he’s great…

“Perhaps Orihime could try to heal your injury, I’ll be back.” With that Rukia left before I could even decline the suggestion. I was admitted in here with a gash on my head requiring six stitches to close so if Orihime heals me, tomorrow when the nurses come to change my bandages and doesn’t see my injury anymore it will be rather strange.

It’s getting dark, it must be almost seven by now and Ryuuken is probably going to show at any minute after all his shift must be almost over. When he’ll come I’ll have to give him my answer if I accept his offer to regain my powers at the cost of losing my friends or I decline the offer and keep my friends but remain powerless. The choice should be obvious, I know what I should choose and yet is it really the right one?

I was never really able to make friends when I was younger, all because I was the sick kid that no one wanted to be around. The teachers would never let me do anything, claiming that I would hurt myself and get sick so I was always the one watching while everyone else did the work. Eventually that caused friction towards my classmates saying that I was a teacher’s pet and it wasn’t fair that I had special treatment as they liked to call it. That caused the others to shun me in return for something that wasn’t my fault. No one saw me for who I was all they saw was the illness and because of that I was alone for a very long time…

When I entered high school it was a fresh start for me, all my former classmates went to different high schools so no one knew me, no one knew my past. I did the only thing I thought of, I kept my illness a secret from everyone as if it didn’t exist and no one treated me differently for a change and I loved it. I was even able to make friends for the first time and now Ryuuken wants to take that away from me, that’s cruel even for him. So what if Ichigo is a Soul Reaper, he’s still human and what is exactly wrong being friends with the Soul Reapers anyway? Yeah I understand that they practically wiped out the Quincies but it was their own fault to begin with, I know deep down that the Soul Reapers had no other choice if they wanted to save this world and the Soul Society. Sensei wanted the Soul Reapers and Quincies to work together, what better way to prove that he was right by fighting alongside them…

The dripping faucet in the bathroom catches my attention as the sound is all that fills the room. That’s strange it wasn’t dripping earlier and I know no one used it so it shouldn’t be doing that. Although it’s just dripping water, the sound itself feels like it’s three times as loud all thanks to this concussion. Thinking back to Rukia’s suggestion to have Orihime heal my injury now doesn’t sound too much of a bad idea.

My vision starts to get hazy, the medication must be starting to kick in; I’m starting to feel drowsy as I hear Rukia and Orihime talking in the hall as they’re getting closer while the sound of constant dripping mix in with the sounds all around me when I suddenly sensed it. It’s different, it’s not the man from before but it’s definitely not human either so it has to be them.

“Ichigo they’re here.” I tell him as I rub my temples trying to rub off the drowsiness and fatigue away without any success. Why of all times did the medication have to kick in right now?

“What? Seriously?” Ichigo bolts onto his feet.

“Yeah…” Was all I could manage to say, I can’t see straight and it’s taking everything I have to stay awake. The medication is numbing my senses, I know there’s something nearby but I can’t tell where they are or how far away either.

Ichigo grabs Kon in a hurry ignoring its complaints as he stuffed his hand deep inside its mouth to get the mod soul out just so he could pop it inside his own turning into a Soul Reaper and Kon taking over Ichigo’s body. Rukia swings the door open with Orihime in tow and without a word Rukia pops her own mod soul to get out of her gigai when she saw Ichigo in his Soul Reaper form.

“Orihime heal Uryuu’s injuries fast!” Rukia orders and Orihime complies without any questions. “Renji! Chad!” She yells to get their attention as Orihime called out her Shun Shun Rikka to cast Sōten Kisshun enveloping me inside her shield and immediately I feel it’s powers working and somehow it feels like the medication I was given is somehow being rejected from my body as its effect is slowly starting to disappear and the constant throbbing pain in my head is starting to reduce little by little. Orihime’s powers sure are amazing and she just keeps getting better and better every time I see her use them.

“Are you done Orihime?” Ichigo asks.

Orihime removes her gaze off me to look at Ichigo as she shook her head. “No not yet just a little longer.”

“Can’t you heal Uryuu a little faster Orihime? We have to get out of here now!” Ichigo further insist but that’s only putting more stress on her. She’s feeling an extreme amount of pressure to work as fast as she can right now even though her powers are still new to her. Even back in the Soul Society she never had so much pressure to heal someone in so little time but I also understand Ichigo. He knows if a fight starts here, we’ll all be sitting ducks we have to move we don’t have a choice in the matter.

The tension is almost unbearable, waiting and not knowing when we’ll get attack. Ichigo, Rukia and Renji are ready to fight while Chad is watching Orihime’s back just in case we get a surprise attack and Kon well he’s in the corner and not doing anything in particular…

So far so good, I know a Bount is here I can feel the strange Spiritual Pressure but something is odd I feel like it’s not only one but two and yet their Spiritual Pressures are so similar like they are two sides of a single coin… I know the Spiritual Pressure of the Bount that attacked me earlier but the female Bount, I don’t know how her’s feels like… It couldn’t be her right? Somehow I don’t think so but we still don’t know what happened to her and how I got here in the first place though…

With each minute that passes I feel a bit better and my senses are starting to return to normal. My gaze fall back unto the dripping faucet in the bathroom, why is that thing even dripping since it’s actually new and somehow it looks like it’s dripping even more than before actually it’s more than dripping it’s leaking.

The female Bount had a doll that could control fire so what if-

“The Bount is controlling water! It’s coming from the faucet!” Just as I shouted to gain the attention of the others the water started to pour out in full force and started taking an odd shape as it lunge itself towards Orihime and me. Ichigo wasted no time in slicing whatever it was, not waiting to see what the ability that thing had. On contact with his blade the water splattered all over the room but it didn’t take long for every drop of water to move on its own and started gathering back together to reform into its earlier form.

Orihime undid her spell as Chad picked me up in his arms wasting no time exiting the room followed by the others. Rukia quickly swung the door closed and placed some clean sheets under the door hoping that it will slow it down.

“Damn it we have to get out of the hospital. Let’s go!” Ichigo orders and no one argues as everyone follows but we end up in a dead end instead only to come face to face with that same body of water as before. Ichigo waste no time slicing it again as it splatters around allowing us to pass and run away again.

Ichigo clearly doesn’t seem to know exactly where he’s going so I have to give out direction to be able to reach the nearest elevator since all the stairwells we’ve encountered are practically out of order all thanks to the drinking fountains located near the exit so the elevator is our only chance when suddenly the hall goes completely black for a few seconds before the emergency lights kick in.

“Where the hell are they!?” Ichigo growls in frustration not like that’ll do much good but I can understand how he’s feeling right now. With the elevator right in front of us, we were almost free but the elevators are now unusable without the main power on but still, we were lucky that we were not in them when the power went out otherwise we would have been in serious trouble…

They obviously don’t want us to get out of the hospital so it must be easier for them to fight inside an enclosed space. I know for certain that there are two water dolls since I’ve been sensing some slight differences each time we encountered a doll so I’ll assume that there must be two Bounts controlling each one.

“Uryuu is there another way out of here?” Rukia asks.

“Just the stairs-”

Ichigo lets out a sigh before turning his attention to us. “I was afraid you’d say that but I guess we have no choice. Our best bet is to go where there is no water for the Bount to form its doll.”

If we take the stairs, it could be a trap maybe that’s what they want us to do but there is also the chance that we might put the other patients in danger if we leave this floor. So far it doesn’t seem like they are interested in anyone else though so if we assume that their only target is me then taking the stairs and leaving the hospital could be possible but once we’re out what next?

“Ummm it’s raining…” Orihime’s voice takes me out of my thoughts.

She starring out of the window and yeah she’s right and it’s raining pretty hard too. If we leave to go outside it will be a real massacre that we just can’t afford to take and who knows how stronger the dolls will become with that much water…

As much as I hate to admit it, we have to choice but to stand our ground on this floor. I have a few Gintous on me but Orihime wasn’t able to completely finish healing me, I don’t feel drowsy anymore and the headache is a lot less intense then before but if my concussion is still there…? If it is, there is no guarantee that I will be able to cast the spells without losing my balance and causing more problems for the others.

We make our way back to the lobby, it’s actually the largest space on the floor and like Rukia explained on the way it be the best place to fight considering our situation. Ichigo and Renji rearrange the tables and chairs so they won’t be in the way while Chad lowered me unto the floor in the corner of the lobby with Orihime and Kon standing on guard. If the water dolls attack back, we’ll try using her shield to stop them while Chad will be free to attack instead of carrying me around and Kon well I don’t see what good he’ll be, he should have ran away when he had the chance now he’s just like me a burden.

“It’s completely hopeless so how about giving us the Quincy and we’ll give you your lives in an exchange? Sounds fair right Ban?”

“Yes very fair Ho.”

Their voices catches our attention and I was right, it’s two Bounts for two dolls and now seeing them it now makes perfect sense why their Spiritual Pressure are so similar. Those two are basically identical. Young boys wearing an orange undershirt beneath a light brown sweatshirt with dark gray rolled up shorts. The only thing that allows us to tell them apart is their headwear. One has chin-length hair parting in the middle wearing a white beanie while the other has short hair with a red baseball cap. They’re twins…

Water slowly start dispersing at their feet and just like that it took on its form when both of them dropped what looked like bottle caps on the ground and the water engulfed the object. Ichigo and Renji wasted no time cutting down the water dolls but every time they did, the doll would reconstruct itself, it didn’t matter how many times they swung their swords at it. The dolls just didn’t want to die.

Wait a minute… Although they look like bottle caps it doesn’t change the fact that the water is drawn to it. If that’s the case the water itself isn’t the doll but those caps are so if we were to destroy the caps itself it should maybe kill the dolls leaving the Bounts defenseless or maybe its life source draws directly from the Bounts themselves. 

“Ichigo! Renji! Aim for the bottle caps within the water! Or better Ichigo take aim for the Bounts themselves!” I shouted catching their attention but not without also getting the Bounts’ as well. However by their expression I called it right. It’s either the caps themselves are the dolls or taking down the Bounts ignoring the dolls altogether is the key to win.

The dolls suddenly started acting differently as it violently twisted and turned in various direction until one of them finally got past Renji’s defenses going straight towards us. Orihime wasted no time calling out her shield and as we theorized the shield protected us from the impact giving Chad the time to attack the doll but unfortunately he missed the cap and not long afterwards the doll reformed its watery body but he was still able to get it to back up and Renji took over the rest.

Those Bounts, no matter what they always remain near each other and in a sense their dolls do the same so what would happen if we’d get them separated. Unfortunately I can’t think of a way to get them to distance themselves from each other. Even if Ichigo ran to one side and Renji to the other the Bounts won’t follow since both of them aren’t in their interest at the moment…

“Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!” A red ball of energy forms as Rukia takes aim. “Hadō number thirty-one Shakkaho!” She calls out as Ichigo and Renji jumps out of the way as she launches her attack towards the dolls but nothing, just like everything else the dolls keep reforming.

No matter what they do nothing is working. Ichigo, Renji, Chad, Rukia and Orihime just how long can they keep this up? Okay Orihime is just calling out her shield on and off but the tension is still there. Ichigo and Renji have started to slow them; cutting at the dolls over and over again is starting to wear them down. Even Rukia’s Shakkaho is starting to become weaker as time passes. No one is injured or anything but at this rate if they can’t completely destroy the dolls their stamina is going to run out.

So that’s it isn’t it? That’s what those Bounts want; they don’t care how long it takes to win all they care about is keeping us in one place to fight and that was our mistake. They know that their opponents are going to run on empty sooner or later and that’s when they’ll do their finishing blow. Damn! If only I was a hundred percent and if only I had my powers then I could help! I know I’d be able to shoot those caps in a heartbeat, I know I wouldn’t miss. I hate being this powerless and at this rate everyone will die just because they wanted to protect me…

“Damn it!” Ichigo barks in anger.

It’s hopeless; we’re just at a complete disadvantage. Rukia can’t use her Zanpakutou’s powers in here; if she does she’ll not only cause damage to the dolls but to us as well. Ichigo and Renji can’t fully unleash theirs either for the same exact reason…

What’s that? I’m sensing a dark pressure all of a sudden, no I know that pressure. It’s the same as that time when Ichigo fought against Byakuya Kuchiki… I quickly glance towards Rukia as she’s being engulfed in the doll’s water and so is Renji and yet Ichigo isn’t moving. What the hell are you doing Ichigo?

“Ichigo!” Orihime calls out and suddenly a huge wave of Spiritual Pressure could be felt; it’s even darker than before. What the hell is going on? Orihime not taking any chances calls out her shield and just in the nick of time too as a large piece of debris was thrown towards us hitting the shield. The Bounts’ expression suddenly changed, they seemed worried as they try to control their dolls directing everything they have towards Ichigo.

Is this Ichigo’s Hollowfication form? It’s maniacal, the voice coming out of him… No that’s not Ichigo, it can’t be. It’s crazy! Swinging its sword not caring whatever it hits and how much damage he’s making in the process. He turns around to reveal a red and white mask, the exact same as a Hollow when suddenly the mask breaks and Ichigo collapses unto the floor. What the hell happened?

“Ichigo!” Orihime calls out but nothing. He’s reached his limits, they all have leaving Chad to fight by himself without much success as he too got caught in the doll’s water body…

I never wanted to be a burden to anyone and yet that’s what I’ve become… What did that do? Everyone is going to die because I was too weak. I couldn’t do anything to help them, all because I disobeyed sensei… No there’s still something I can do, at this point if it fails it won’t make any difference if I do nothing and if it does then maybe we’ll have a fighting chance.

I reach for the two metal tubes in my pocket and threw them towards the Bounts catching them by surprise.

“A silver rod strikes the five-fingered stone bed - Gritz!” I call out as the tubes take form into somewhat of a silver casket with the Quincy cross on them completely enveloping the Bounts causing their dolls to become still but they keep their forms.

A blue light engulfs the dark hall as a water doll explodes; its cap completely disintegrates in an instant followed by another blue flash that I recognize well enough to be a Quincy arrow. The second arrow strikes the other doll directly into the cap and just like the other it disintegrated and the form of water that had Rukia, Renji and Chad captive lost its form and they were finally free as they gasp for air.

Gritz then collapsed but what happened next was shocking as the Bounts grasp at their chest in pain as their bodies drastically changed from young children to old men until they turned into dust leaving behind the clothes they had been wearing.

Orihime quickly goes to check on Ichigo as I get up and make my way through the debris to inspect the Bounts who had stood right here only a few seconds ago and now were nothing more than dust with nothing but their clothes left behind. So those caps truly were the actual dolls but the moment their dolls died so did they. Even though they were enemies, it’s not a pleasant thought…

“That was unsightly of you, Uryuu…”

Footsteps caught my attention and I just don’t get it. The moment I saw that arrow kill the second doll I knew who shot it but how? I just don’t understand… He chose not to be a Quincy. He said it was a waste of time and he wanted nothing to do with them so his powers should be long gone by now and yet his bow… I’ve never seen one like that before, it’s not just a bow made out of Reishi but it’s actually a physical manifestation. He doesn’t just have his powers, for him to have a bow like that he’s strong to the point I don’t think I could match up if I had my powers right now.

“Ryuuken…” The name slips off my tongue as he came closer to me as his bow dissipated since he no longer had any use for it.

“Calling your father by his first name again. You never change, do you… Uryuu?” Not bothering to place much emotion in his tone as he spoke but I caught Rukia’s eye for a second. The fact that I called my own father by his name wasn’t too welcomed by her. I admit, it’s not very respectful on my part but he’d never been much of a father to begin with so why should I?

“Chad help me take Ichigo to Urahara.” Rukia orders as she clears her throat. “I think it’s best that we leave the both of you alone Uryuu…” She adds as she gives Orihime and Kon a signal to follow. Without a single word they walked away leaving me alone with Ryuuken much to my dismay. I can’t tell if he’s angry that his hospital just got some serious damage or if he’s angry that I got myself involved in another mess that I have absolute no control over. 

“Why do you have Quincy powers? I thought you had forsaken your powers a long time ago when I was still a child.” I ask his expression still calm and cold as always.

“You’re a fool son; I chose my words very wisely. I have no interest in it and you have no talent for it were the exact words I used back then however my powers are not as disposable as yours otherwise I would have lost them long ago.” He lectures me but I still don’t get it. How were mine more disposable than his?

Ryuuken reaches into his jacket and takes out a large cross that I knew all too well. It was sensei’s cross but why does he have it?

“Against my own wishes and interest, it was I who was chosen to inherit all of the powers and techniques from the previous generation Soken Ishida and was given the title of the Last Quincy. The one and only.”  He explains before placing the cross back inside his jacket.

I can’t say anything against that, now knowing that he still has his powers it shouldn’t come as a surprise that sensei chose him over me. It’s only logical to choose the stronger successor, I was never even near to my own father’s strength and I was only allowed to see a fraction of it I’m sure…

“So… It was you… It was you who saved me from that Bount and brought me here…?” I ask and yet I can’t even believe my own words that I just asked.

“That’s correct.” His answer was brief and short.

I can’t help but feeling angry at him the more I look into his cold stare. “You never had any interest in what I did in the past so why now?”

He quickly adjusts his glasses by slightly pushing then up the bridge of his nose as he lets out a sigh. “That is why you are a fool, son. Does a father need a reason to save his child? Now son, tell me… Your answer.”

It shouldn’t even be a questionable debate as to what I should choose and considering what happened tonight, my decision should be very clear as to what my answer should be. “I want my powers back more than anything but… I can’t turn my back on the friends that I’ve made just to get what I lost. You may call me a fool and perhaps that I am but… If I chose power over them… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if something would happen. I have to decline your offer…”

After what everyone did for me tonight, if I chose my powers over them I don’t know what to call myself. They risked their lives to protect me and none of them have known me for very long and they didn’t have any reasons to do so either. Rukia even went out of her way just to find a way to restore my powers. I can’t betray them like that; I’ll find my own way somehow.

“Now you speak like an adult.” He tells me killing the silence and catching me by surprise but by his expression I knew he wasn’t finished. “I will restore your powers but I warn you, it won’t be easy on both sides.”

Did he hit his head or something; he just doesn’t make any sense. He told me to choose and I did. I refused to not associate myself with Soul Reapers which was his condition and yet he says this?

“I don’t understand, you said-”

“The Quincy's arrows are released in the name of Justice and justice is when you have something that must be protected. From there on, it depends on your heart. Quincies release the arrows from their hearts.” He explains. I remember sensei telling me this when I was just learning on how to form a bow and I was having a hard time shooting my arrows because at the time I only wanted to be a Quincy in name. I didn’t fully understand what it meant until sensei explained to me exactly that. That it wasn’t until I found something that I wanted to protect that I was finally able to shoot a successful arrow.

“If I had chosen-”

“Chosen to abandon those you view as allies, comrades and friends for the sake of power I would have had to turn you away. There wouldn’t have been any point in restoring your powers if you have nothing to protect.” He tells me. So all that time, it was just a trick question as to know how I truly felt but it doesn’t change anything between us. For so long he kept his powers and his succession a secret from me and if he’s been keeping that a secret what else does he know that I don’t?


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**Ichigo**

“Damn it!” I can’t help but shout my frustration and anger out of desperation.  

No matter how many times I slice those damn things up they keep regenerating right away. I know Uryuu said to hit what looks like bottle caps floating in the dolls’ water body but I can’t get Zangetsu to hit those damn things. Every time my blade touches the water, the caps within move around and I keep missing.

If only we weren’t stuck inside this cramped hospital, if only it wasn’t raining, if only we could have escaped and went outside because I know things would have been different. I would have been able to unleash Getsuga Tenshou and even go into Bankai but I can’t in this cramped up space. Hell why hasn’t anyone else come to this world and deal with the Bounts? Rukia informed the Soul Society about the current situation and about how they are interested in Uryuu and yet no one has come.

Why isn’t the Soul Society helping? Why are they allowing these Bounts to continue their activities and simply allowing them to do as they please? They’ve been killing so much people, eating the souls of living humans; doesn’t that cause an unbalancement between both worlds? That’s what the Quincies were doing and two hundred years ago the Soul Society tried to completely eradicate them so why not the Bounts?

Uryuu has every right to not like the Soul Reapers, I understand that and yet he chose to place his faith in them still because he decided to trust my decisions. He risked his own life to help save Rukia all because I wanted to save her and in return both Renji and Rukia are more than willing to risk theirs to help Uryuu right now but why isn’t anyone else want to do the same? Is it because Uryuu is a Quincy? 

Zangetsu is starting to feel heavy and I can barely swing it around. At this rate everyone is going to get killed and Uryuu will be taken away. Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Everyone is counting on me and I’m failing, I’m letting everyone down but nothing is fucking working!

All sounds around me starts to sound distant and heavy as everything starts growing dark. I know this feeling; I’ve had this feeling before when I was fighting Byakuya back in the Soul Society. It’s him or it’s me, I don’t know what he is but he’s trying to force himself out again. I don’t want to… But… Everyone is going to die… Everyone that came out of their way just to help… We all wanted to keep Uryuu safe, that’s why we came here in the first place so what will happen to Uryuu if we die? Are those two acquaintances of that snake freak that got away? Too much of a coward to come himself… No I can’t allow him to lay another finger on any of my friends so just this once go ahead. Do it you fucking bastard, I’ll let you take over if it means my friends get to live.

The feeling of being pushed back, it’s as if I’m being strangled by an invisible pressure. Slowly sinking into this pressure, drowning in the malicious chaos that is leading me down into the abyss…

“Ichigo!”

Orihime… I’m going down… Down… Way down… It’s heavy but there is still a light glowing down upon the darkness that is trying to consume me and for a moment I see her. Orihime and Uryuu… They are starring, starring at what I’ve become. Their faces show nothing but a horrified expression… It’s not me… What did I do, no what did he do? It was a mistake… I never should have relied on you; you’re nothing more than a toxic insanity… I should have known I could not trust you; you never wanted to save any of them. Is that it?

I suddenly feel my body grow heavier as my vision grows darker and everything sounds so far away as my body hits the cold hard floor.

“Ichigo!”

Orihime… Uryuu… Guys… I tried... I’m sorry, I failed…

* * *

 

My eyes jolted open to come face to face with Tessai and what the hell is he doing over me under the fucking covers! Damn it! This is the second fucking time! “Get off! Have you ever heard of giving a man his personal space!?” I shout as I kick him off me causing him little to no pain at all as he straighten himself up like I did nothing to him at all.

“Boss! He’s awake.” He loudly calls out to Urahara and not within a minute had passed; Urahara slid the door open and greeted me like he usually does, a little too cheerful if you ask me.

I quickly look around the room; this is where Urahara had brought me when I was recovering from my first confrontation with Byakuya before Rukia was taken away. Actually this is the recovery room as I like to call it. I’m back in my own body but no one is here and then everything that happened at the hospital comes rushing back to me into slight panic. Where is Uryuu? Where are the others?

“I know what you’re thinking Ichigo. Everyone is fine; the two Bounts that attacked are dead.” Urahara states but that doesn’t help to ease my confusion. What the hell happened? All I remember is that I was getting so frustrated and tired, I allowed him to take over and then it all went blank.

“How were the Bounts killed? What happened to Uryuu? Where is he?” I ask.

Everything had seemed so hopeless, I remember that Rukia and Renji had been caught inside one of the doll’s water body; I don’t recall anything about Chad and Orihime… She was protecting Uryuu with Kon… There’s no way Orihime could have defeated those Bounts on her own so did Rukia or Renji beat them somehow?

“All you need to know right now is that Uryuu is fine. Everyone is alright but what you should be more concerned about is that inner Hollow inside of you.” Inner Hollow? What the hell is he talking about? Is that me, that guy no that thing a Hollow? I know that he’s crazy and have a thirst for blood but I figured that it must have been normal, no one seemed to notice it either other than when I fought against Byakuya and he seemed uninterested about it afterwards so why worry about it and now Urahara tells me that I should be concerned about it?

“You know about it?” I ask.

“Of course I know about it. I knew it be eventually a problem later on as you would grow stronger.” He states.

I can’t believe that he knew right from the start and he never thought it be a good idea to mention it even once? My inner Hollow took over my body when I was fighting Byakuya to the point it nearly killed him if I hadn’t taken control when I did but I was able to break free from it but it still caused a lot of damage that I don’t remember doing.

“Then why didn’t you-”

“There were more pressing matters that needed to be dealt with first.” Urahara cuts me off but his tone suddenly darkens as he continued. “Your inner Hollow is your power and if you want to become even stronger you have to learn how to control the power that is yours.” Yeah that makes sense but how, he seems to have a mind of his own. Clearly he has no respect for me what so ever.

“You’re going to train me so I can learn to control my inner Hollow at will?” I ask as I get up.

“No.” He quickly blurts out. Seriously this guys, as much as I admire him for everything he’s done for me so far, he also knows exactly how to piss me the hell off for his own amusement.

“Then how can I even know how to do that when I don’t even know-?”

“You will learn it.” He cuts me off again which only helps to further fuel my anger but I keep it bottled up, not wanting to anger the guy who probably could kill me if he chose to. “Ichigo how do you think that I even knew how to restore and awake your own Soul Reaper powers?” He asks, not like I ever gave it much thought before not that it really matters. All I need is my powers, who cares about the theory. There’s no time for that!

“How the hell should I know?” I answer not that it really matters.

Right now even though Urahara tells me that I should focus on dealing with my inner Hollow, all I care about is what happened in the hospital. Was I the one who killed those Bounts in my possession and where the hell is Uryuu? Was he injured, were any of my friends injured in that matter that’s what I want to know.

“Due to some unfortunate events caused by Aizen, many Soul Reapers were forced into Hollowfication and I was able to save them. That process allowed me to discover a way to restore your powers, do you follow me?” Urahara casually explains catching my attention. Aizen again, every time something bad seems to have happened in the Soul Society in the past it’s always connected to him just like it’s his fault that Urahara was banished from the Soul Society and forced to live in the world of the living but I’m not sure why though.

“Yeah I follow.” I acknowledge. “So they will train me is that it?”

He quickly adjusts his hat before answering. “Yes.”

“Okay then when do I start training?” I ask. There doesn’t seem to be anyone here so if I’m getting some people to train me that I don’t know about where are they?

“That will be up to them to decide. Be patient, they’ll come to you soon enough so be ready Ichigo.” He tells me but it felt more like a warning then anything else.

* * *

 

**Chapter 12.5**

**Rukia**

That was one hell of a night and I hope we don’t get another one like that but things turned out for the best in the end, Urahara was thankful that we brought Ichigo to him after he passed out from exhaustion. He also had somethings he wished to talk to him about so we left him there while Chad and Orihime returned to their homes. I asked Renji if he could go back to the Soul Society and ask for some assistance in concerning the Bounts and he hasn’t come back yet so I wonder how it’s going.

Asking for assistance wasn’t the only reason why Renji left, after what happened last night. What Uryuu had told me and what he claimed was false so it’s something that Renji had to report because what I had reported about sighting of a Quincy wasn’t completely accurate, it needed to be readjusted. Renji assured me that he would emphasize the fact that Uryuu had known nothing about his father’s status, that he had always believed that his father had rejected what he was and only used his powers to save his son so not making Uryuu a liar in the sense. However this is something I don’t plan on mentioning to Ichigo, if he knew that I had to report what I knew about Uryuu being a Quincy, he would never stand for it…

The old conflict between Soul Reapers and Quincies still seem to be much alive even though the war was two hundred years ago there still seems to be some hate involve. When Uryuu was in the Soul Society, after all that madness had been over and things died down, I was able to have a nice talk with him. I was able to learn about his grandfather, I could see he loved him very much. It must have been very traumatic for Uryuu seeing his grandfather be killed by a Hollow right in front of his eyes and knowing full well that his grandfather had been closely monitored for years so Soul Reapers should have been there to save him but they didn’t because of Mayuri Kurotsuchi.

Uryuu told me that his grandfather wished to make amends between the Quincies and the Soul Reapers. That both could work together and expressed his wishes to try and accomplish what his grandfather had wanted before he died. I have to say that it is very noble of him to do so, I don’t want to hinder that nor do I want the Soul Society to distribute an execution order to eliminate both father and son just because of their status. I can’t let that happen either, none of them have done anything wrong.

Everything is just too quiet; it’s been so long since we last heard anything about Aizen. The tension of waiting is almost unbearable but that must be what he wants. He wants us to be stressed and on a constant tension so when the time comes we will make clumsy mistakes.

In the meantime we are troubled by these Bounts and for some reason they are interested in Uryuu. The thing is that we do not know if they are simply interested in eating his soul or if they need him for something more at this point. Thinking back to the events that transpired last night, we were severely outmatched all due to our surroundings. If it hadn’t been for Uryuu’s father things would have gone very bad for us.

Uryuu had been able to cause the dolls to become motionless by encasing the Bounts into something I’m not sure what those silver coffins were but that allowed his father to accurately shoot each dolls, killing them as a result. I learned last night that a doll is connected to its owner, if the doll dies so do they.

“Rukia!” Orihime calls out to me, taking me out of my thoughts in the process.

“Oh hey Orihime. How are you?” I ask trying to get a conversation started as she sits next to me by the river.

“I’m good.” She looks happy this morning as she spoke which is good; she looked rather gloomy after we left the hospital last night. It’s good to see her smiling again, it just doesn’t feel right seeing her sad.

“Have you heard anything from Uryuu?” I ask.

“After we left Urahara’s shop, I stopped by the hospital on my way home. I wanted to finish healing Uryuu…” She explains, her smile slowly fading away as she pauses for a few seconds before continuing. “His father allowed me in so I could heal Uryuu but I haven’t heard from him since.”

“I don’t think we need to worry about Uryuu right now. I highly doubt it that his father will stand by and watch Uryuu get hurt by the Bounts.” I reassure her by giving her a smile which she happily returns.

Now that I think about it, knowing that Uryuu’s father has Quincy powers and from what I was able to see he’s strong. It was only for a slight moment but I was able to see his bow, it was way different than the one I saw Uryuu use so with that I can assume Uryuu was brought to the hospital not by the female Bount. His father must have confronted the female Bount at some point, fought against her and won.

Ichigo had told me what Uryuu had told them when he had been hospitalized about his father. How he doesn’t believe that his father cares about him and that he hasn’t looked at him once since his mother died. It could have been his illness that was speaking at that time or Uryuu really is a fool. He can’t even see how important he is to his father. If you do not care for someone, you won’t stop what it is you were doing to help them, he wouldn’t have saved Uryuu from the female Bount and he most certainly would not have saved him last night.

When I get the chance this is something I want to talk to Uryuu about. His lack of respect for his father was hard to swallow, I held my words back last night because it wasn’t my place but it’s not something I will allow to slide. It’s clearly something that Uryuu does on a daily basis and yet his father doesn’t scold him for it like he should, he instead corrects him but nothing more. This whole friction Uryuu has between himself and his father is clear as to where it originates from and in a way I can’t exactly blame Uryuu in a sense but it doesn’t excuse him for how he speaks to his father.

He lost his mother and he lost his grandfather when he was so young, two people who were clearly very important to him and the pain he feels about those losses greatly affected him and it still does to this day which causes him problems and it is those two things that probably causes the friction with his father. However, there are always two sides to a coin. I won’t ignore the role his father must have in Uryuu’s life but he’s the parent here.

Being a single parent to raise a child, having a hospital to manage and being a doctor doesn’t give much time for him to give to his son. I’m certain that he misses out on so many things because he works so many hours just to support his family, to make sure that Uryuu has everything that he needs but his father forgot the most important thing and I think that is why Uryuu is rebelling towards his father. Uryuu probably doesn’t even realize it himself but by acting out, it’s his way to draw attention to himself. That’s what he wants deep down, he wants his father’s attention but most of all his love.

Uryuu… I know you’re hurting deep down but… You fail to see that you’re not the only one who is suffering. You lost a mother and a grandfather but you fail to see that your father not only lost his father but he also lost his wife. The woman that he loved and the mother of his only child died but for Uryuu’s sake he’s the parent so he has to be the strong one and chances are he’s never gotten over his wife’s death…

“You’re so quiet Rukia!” Orihime says as she gets up, taking me out of my thoughts.

“Sorry about that…” I apologize as I get up, slapping my behind to remove the pieces of grass that stuck to the fabric of my dress. “Hey Orihime, want to do something?”

“Yes! It’d be a girls’ day out!” Orihime exclaims as we get going. Yeah it’s going to be a girls’ day out, it be fun and I feel like it would also do good and get to know Orihime a little better. I get so worked up about Ichigo that I sometimes forget about the others, they too have feelings and problems. It’s important that I be there, not just for Ichigo but for all of them. I owe them that much.

 


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Uryuu**

“You must dodge every arrows, not even a single one must hit you.”

“That’s insane-”

“Do you want your powers back or not?” He asked, his solid manifested bow in his hand that is ready to fire. “For once in your life, listen to what I tell you. Now we begin.”

I jolt up in a panic as I gasp for air and only when I realize that I’m in my room that it was just a dream that I’m finally able to relax and I can catch my breath and my heart starts to slow down from that rapid beating. Everything that has happened is more of a blur but I still remember a little what transpired the night before. Ryuuken had been constantly shooting at me with waves of arrows over and over again, not giving me any time to rest or to catch my breath. All I had to do was run and evade each attack but it was easier said than done considering how his training room was built under the hospital…

How long was that room even there? Even though he claimed to not be interested in being a Quincy, I know he’s been secretly training in there. There were some signs of previous damages to the walls and after he started attacking me, he further damaged it.

The last thing I remember was I tried to trap Ryuuken inside Gritz but I failed, he was able to break free immediately and then… And then… He shot me… He really shot me in the chest.

I undo my shirt, revealing my chest with a pentacle shape mark exactly where the arrow had hit me as I place my fingers on it. It feels warm and yet numb but it doesn’t hurt. However, I don’t feel any different from before I started his so called training so all of that and it didn’t work…

I quickly glance at my alarm clock, still twenty minutes before it goes off. Since I’m already awake, I might as well get ready for school. I go to turn the alarm buzzer off when I notice it hadn’t been set the night before. I don’t dwell much on it as I go straight to the bathroom to get ready. Brush my teeth, my hair and wash my face before making my bed and then get dressed in my school uniform.

I make my way downstairs, like usual Ryuuken is sitting at the dining table reading is paper and drinking his coffee like usual.

“Up so soon, I was not expecting you to wake for another two days.” Ryuuken tells me breaking the silence first, never removing his eyes off the paper.

“What do you mean? How long was I passed out?” I ask a little confused. He shot me yesterday right?

“I already told you, two days…” He replies before taking a sip of his coffee as he flips the page of his paper. Typical for him to answer in ways to complicate things instead of just answering like a normal human being.

Two days, I was sleeping for two whole days? So if that’s the case then today is not Wednesday but Friday… Great that’s just perfect, exactly how am I supposed to explain to everyone where I’ve been for the last three days? Oh yeah Ichigo my father told me he could restore my powers but he ended up shooting at me all day instead as if trying to kill me and then succeeded in actually sticking an Heilig Pfeil almost into my heart and thus resulting I lost conscious for two whole days and the outcome of this was that I still don’t have my powers back. Yeah like he’ll take that for an explanation…

I head off to the kitchen only to find that it would seem my breakfast is already prepared and decided for me right on the kitchen counter… Seriously not again… Leafy greens that I’m so used to by now as kale; the thought of how kale taste sends shiver down my spine, it taste so bitter how can anyone get used to this. The one thing that is odd, if he didn’t think I’d wake for another two days then why has my breakfast been prepared?

“What’s this?” The words escape my mouth faster than I can even stop myself from asking something so stupid. Of course I know what it is, but seriously why does he feel the need to constantly torture me this way? Wasn’t shooting me good enough?

“Breakfast…” Was his simple answer, never bothering to remove his gaze off his paper.

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” I mumble to myself as I pick a kale leaf with my fingers, starring at it in disgust for a few seconds before dropping it back unto the plate with the others.

“No…” He replies just as quickly as his last answer and I wasn’t even asking him a question. Anyway, like always he didn’t bother to place much emotion in his tone as he takes another gulp of coffee.

“You really enjoy torturing me don’t you…?” I ask starring at my breakfast. A small bowl of white rice, a small bowl of miso soup, strawberries and some fish. That alone would be good, except for the kale… If there is ever a vegetable that represents hell, it would be kale.

“If making sure my child remains healthy and alive is torture then yes I enjoy it.” Is that sarcasm to try and make fun of me or is he actually being serious? With Ryuuken I just can’t tell anymore, he always has this cold hard expression and never even bothers to know what I’m doing and now it’s like he’s trying to show that he’s this number one father who cares. It’s utter bullshit.

“Sure…” I mumbled as I take my breakfast to the dining table, at the complete opposite from Ryuuken as I mumble again. “All of that for nothing…”

“Give it a few days for your powers to recover. The difficult and exceedingly dangerous part is over, now comes the recuperation process.” He answers as he folds his paper and putting it aside before finishing his coffee.

“How long will it take?” I ask as I take a spoonful of broth and gently blow to cool down the hot liquid.

“Enough with the mopping and focus on what can be done instead.” And just like that he changes the subject as he gets up to place his empty mug in the sink. Conversation over and without another word he walks out the door, gone to do another twelve hour shift at the hospital.

“Bye…” I mumbled to myself before turning my attention to my breakfast, not eager to eat that kale…

* * *

 

**Chapter 13.5**

**Rukia**

That sure was fun; there are so many things in the world of the living that I’ve never seen before. Just like that photo booth in the shopping mall for an instance, Orihime got so excited when she saw it. She kept insisting that we should do it when we walked by one and there was no way she was taking a no for an answer. It looked like a colorful large rectangular box with a thick curtain as a door and there really wasn’t much room but luckily we were small so it was good.

Orihime placed a coin in its slot and suddenly flashes after flashes filled the booth. It was only after she explained to me what those flashes were that I understood that each flash was the camera taking pictures of us so Orihime inserted another coin and we had fun making these ridiculous faces.  

It was a nice day, it felt good just to spend it without having to worry about anything else and just have fun. I didn’t realize how much I needed a moment like that and it did Orihime a lot of good also. I learned a few things about her that day. I’ve learned that she hides her insecurities with a bright smile and she wants to become stronger. She doesn’t believe that she can keep up with everyone and in a way she’s right but her powers are amazing still. Like I told her, all she needs is to train and that hard work will pay off but she shouldn’t think so lowly of herself, that she is a valuable comrade and friend.

Today things seem to have returned back to normal. Everyone is back to their old self and what a surprise Uryuu showed up after being absence since Tuesday. Orihime did a good job healing him after the whole hospital fiasco. You wouldn’t even be able to tell that he received a serious head injury with a severe concussion. He looks completely healthy and well but even with all of that he’s not happy…

The first thing Ichigo did when he saw Uryuu was to ask him where he’d been since that night but Uryuu simply brushed him off as nothing much to his annoyance. By now Ichigo should know not to approach Uryuu so directly when trying to inquire information about the Quincy, Ichigo you fool. He never learns, I haven’t known Uryuu that long but even I know that’s not how you will get any information out of him. You have to approach him indirectly to get him to start talking or just be patient and he’ll come to you. Now with Ichigo pestering Uryuu every few minutes, if he had something to say he won’t say it now which is problematic for me…

I don’t feel anything different from Uryuu though so I guess his father didn’t try to restore his powers or maybe things didn’t go too well between them after we left or his father just doesn’t want Uryuu having his powers back but why? He should know in what danger that puts Uryuu in with those Bounts on the loose unless there’s a reason why his father doesn’t want his son to regain his powers and I need to know why that would be. Now the other question I wonder where has Uryuu been for the last three days if he wasn’t doing any training to restore his powers…?

What to do, what to do? Renji came back yesterday and not with some good news either. Well some good news and some bad news I should say. Apparently the Arrancars are starting to make their moves, the Hollows that have started appearing in Karakura town as of late aren’t your every day average Hollows so meaning that Aizen must be almost ready to attack. The only good news is that the Court Guard Squad will be keeping a close eye on Uryuu’s activity for his safety concerning the Bounts however; I doubt it that it’s the only reason though.

After all Uryuu and his father are the last remaining Quincies in this world or are they? If his father was able to hide his powers from his son and us, it only helps to justify that maybe many more can do the same and that’s the problem. By my report, I was able to conclude that Uryuu’s father is very strong; actually he’s on a whole different class than Uryuu that’s without a doubt. He was able to kill a doll with a single strike and dispose of the second one without any trouble at all while we had a hard time just dealing with a Bount that was clearly much weaker than the ones we encountered in the hospital and yet he took care of two in a heartbeat like it was nothing.

“Uryuu can I talk to you?” I ask as he gets up from his seat catching his attention in curiosity and automatically Ichigo also gets up to join us. “I need to speak to Uryuu alone.” I glance at Ichigo as I emphasize the word alone before turning away out of the classroom urging Uryuu to follow me.

Perhaps it might be a mistake not involving Ichigo but he already has enough on his plate as it is. What happened that night at the hospital, it wasn’t normal and quite frankly it’s making me feel rather uneasy. I’ve never seen a Soul Reaper wearing the mask of a Hollow before so I thought it be a good idea to take Ichigo to Urahara and he said that he’d take care of it. Also, what I want to talk to Uryuu about really doesn’t concern Ichigo anyhow and the fact that he’s been on Uryuu’s ass since school started, yeah I don’t need him around right now.

“What did you want to talk about Rukia?” Uryuu asks as we go up to the stairs leading up to the school rooftop, opening the door to reveal the sky. A bright light blue with a few white clouds hiding the sun from time to time and a cool breeze, it’s without a doubt a lovely day again.

“I’m certain you know what Uryuu…” I answer briefly as I hear the door close before I turn around to look at his expression. Not surprised or confused as he looked down to his feet before sitting down, his back against the railing.

“There’s no point of you-”

“Uryuu!” I call out, my tone a little sharper and louder than I had intended making Uryuu jump a little. “Look, listen… I need to know, is there anything being done to restore your powers?” I ask but he doesn’t look up as he brings his knees closer to his chest.  

“Ryuuken said he’d restore my powers but now I’m not so sure… Three days have passed and I still don’t feel anything.” He answers; his tone hinted his disappointment so that’s what he was doing. He’s right though, I don’t sense anything different from him so that explains why he didn’t say anything to Ichigo about his absence. He just doesn’t have any results to show.

“I see…” I mutter as I sit next to him. “Uryuu, I don’t want to scare you but you are aware that a Quincy will die without their powers right?”

I glance towards him from the corner of my eye, he doesn’t look at me instead he sinks his chin into his knees. He doesn’t answer and just stares blankly, does he know or is this news to him I can’t tell.

“Captain Kurotsuchi doesn’t believe that all your powers are completely gone otherwise you wouldn’t be here right now.” I add. Placing a hand on his shoulder to give him a form of comfort but I don’t get a response or a smile only a slight flinch at my touch, that’s rather odd.

I thought Ichigo kept all to himself, he’s nothing compared to Uryuu. Ichigo is like a book, you can easily tell when something is bothering him but with Uryuu you really have to study him closely and even there, to be able to see him, to see how he really feels you have to corner him otherwise he just plays this act that he’s fine but he really isn’t, actually he hasn’t been fine for a very long time I’m afraid.

“You surprised me that night Uryuu; I never would have pictured you to be the type to show so much disrespect towards your father-”

“I’m not interested in being lectured.” He suddenly cuts me off before getting up.

“Bakudou number one! Sai!” I call out as I point my index and middle finger towards Uryuu, forcing his arms to lock behind his back also forcing him to sit back down much to his annoyance. That’s his go to method, every time he doesn’t like something his solution is to walk away. It’s a bad habit of his that won’t solve anything. “I hate using kidou on my friends but you really are complicated you know.” I add.

“Anyway… I’m not trying to lecture you Uryuu. I just don’t get it. He’s all you have left and you are the only thing he has left and yet both of you are like fire and water, complete opposites or perhaps you two are so alike that it causes friction.” I tell him. Just thinking how he just so casually said his father’s name just a few minutes ago made my skin crawl. Never would I have dared to call my brother by his name, it’s just unacceptable and disrespectful.

“I’m nothing like him…” He blurts out and I see it’s not something he likes to be compared to. Sons normally are proud to be compared to their fathers and yet he loathes it. He refuses to see how similar he is to his father, like it’s a sin but why.

Thinking back about that man I saw at the hospital, average height with an average build dressed in proper clothing fitting his status as director of that huge hospital and white short hair. He was calm and serious but I saw love and concern in that man’s eyes when he looked at Uryuu and yet he can’t see that.

“Why do you hate your father so much? No matter what he’ll always be your father and you his son, you’re precious to him but you can’t seem to see that as I can.” I feel like shaking him, maybe my words would sink in better but I don’t.

Looking at Uryuu, more numb than anything I wonder what is going on in that head of his. What is he thinking? Is this kind of relationship between children and parents common in this world? Is Ichigo’s family now the abnormal one and if so it’s sad, where did the family values go? How did it all come to this…?

I release my spell on Uryuu, his arms free but he doesn’t get up to try and run away, instead he brings his knees back closer to his chest like it’s some form of protection. “I don’t hate him. Not really… I’m just angry at him.”

“Acting out won’t make things any better Uryuu. It will only make it worst.” I tell him.

“I never got to tell my mom goodbye, he never allowed me to see her in the hospital, not once and when she died at her funeral I was forbidden to see her…” he replied as I catch a tear roll down his cheeks which he quickly wipes off and I can tell that it’s best to stop pushing. I’ve already pushed more than I should have…

That answers a few questions that I had but not all of them though but I don’t think Uryuu would be able to answer them anyway. I wonder what kind of training his father gave him, if it’s the same method that captain Kurotsuchi told me if not what did he do?

I get up before giving one last look at Uryuu; he hasn’t budged a muscle with his face buried in his knees. Maybe I might have pushed a bit too far, clearly it’s not something he loves to remember but… He can’t keep running from something that pains him so, it’s something he should speak to his father about. To allow all the anger, rage and sorrow that he has been keeping all these years to be poured out.

I take a leap down from the school rooftop as I pop my mod soul into my mouth, allowing me to escape my gigai. Leaping on a telephone post unto the next when I sense that familiar Spiritual Pressure coming from behind me in top speed.

“Go back to school Ichigo!” I shout before I stop on a random rooftop turning to meet that orange hair. That fool, what is he thinking becoming a Soul Reaper like that? I know he’s now a substitute Soul Reaper but… It doesn’t change the fact that he’s human and therefore he should act more like a human than a Soul Reaper. He has his own duties, his own life to live.

“What’s going on Rukia?” He asks, completely ignoring what I just told him to do. Not coming much of a surprise though after knowing him for a while now.

“It doesn’t concern you Ichigo, go back to school.” I answer as I look up to meet his gaze, he ain’t going to leave. His expression says that much to my dismay.

“Hell it concerns me! It became my concern the moment you wanted to talk to Uryuu.” He shouts back, not bothering to hide his frustration in his tone. At least he could lower his voice, I’m right next to him but still to be this frustrated that I did not include him into our discussion is rather childish.

“Ichigo, I just wanted to know if anything was being done to restore his powers. That’s all…” I assure him before turning away.

“Oh yeah!?”

I suddenly get a kicked into my behind causing me to fall face first into the roof tiles. I shoot a glare at Ichigo as I rub my sore behind that he just kicked.  His expression is rather furious and not at all apologetic for having just hit me like that for no reason at all.

“So then tell me why Uryuu just left, he looked pretty upset for just a question on how are your powers!?” He barks at me.

Uryuu left? I knew he was upset but I didn’t think he’d leave school because of that, my intentions were not to hurt him but everyone has some not too fond memories that they must deal with. Uryuu needs to overcome those memories, those feelings if he wants to move on.

“And the first thing that came to your thoughts was to go after me instead of Uryuu? Are you really that stupid Ichigo?” I shout back at Ichigo at my turn, giving him an elbow to the ribs.

“Well I-”

“Look Ichigo… I shouldn’t have to tell you this, you are clueless at times but I know you’ve figured that one out long ago. There are certain things-”

“You can’t tell me!” He cuts me off, finishing what I wanted to say. “I know that, I’d be really stupid to think that the Soul Society would tell me everything. I know there’s something about Uryuu that you’re not telling me, I get it just… I don’t want him to die because of what he is.” He adds. His tone now calm and serious. My stomach makes a drop at the mention of Uryuu dying, I don’t want that either.

“Yeah… That’s what I’m working on Ichigo but things suddenly changed and it’s rather complicated at the moment. I can’t give you any detail other than Uryuu is being watched for protection purposes against the Bounts.” I explain. I could tell Ichigo about Uryuu’s status but I don’t think he’d understand. Understand that at this very moment, because of the new information I had to report. Uryuu is no longer considered an ally of the Soul Society, he’s being evaluated if he’s a threat or not and if the slightest thing arises that could be a bane to the Soul Society, Uryuu will be executed along with his father…

“Protective duty or more like surveillance captivity?” Ichigo blurts out; he’s not that clueless after all… “Uryuu better not die at the hands of the Soul Society, I won’t let it slide Rukia.” He adds and I have to look away from his gaze. He knows this much… If anything happens to any of his friends, I know that we might not be able to stop Ichigo’s wrath. I just hope that Captain Yamamoto will also take that into consideration if anything does arise.

“I won’t allow that to happen…” I assure him before I go back to a run and I sense Ichigo go the other way. I have zero doubts that Uryuu would never do anything to cause friction with the Soul Society, his father I am certain also that he would do no such thing. He’s kept himself quiet for a very long time, the only reason he came out was to save his son and if that’s the case then everything should be fine.

It’s odd now that ever since I’ve sensed his Spiritual Pressure the other night, when I come near the hospital I can sense him quite clearly. I’ve never sensed it before or maybe I just ignored it but just standing outside, I sense it as if this man is right next to me. To think even Uryuu never felt this Spiritual Pressure or maybe he did but never gave him much thought or got so used to it that he no longer feels it altogether.

I could have remained in my gigai to come here but I would have had to waste my time just trying to reach this man. Going on floor after floor to find where he could be, this building truly is built like a maze as Ichigo would say but at least in this form I don’t have to worry about any nurses to stop me. It wasn’t until I reached the last floor that his Spiritual Pressure became strongest and this floor is basically offices for the other doctors and at the end of the hall I found his office. I opened the door and there he was just sitting at his wooden desk, reading a book and not even fazed or surprised to see me walk in the room, closing the door behind me.

Now standing in front of this man, I think I might further understand how Uryuu feels. The man’s cold hard eyes, starring back at you is almost intimidating but I know this man isn’t heartless. He is just very good at wearing a poker face; he surely isn’t what I saw that night. He will listen to me, I know it.

“Ryuuken Ishida am I correct? Rukia Kuchiki, as you are aware I’m a Soul Reaper of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad, I belong to the Thirteen Squad commanded by Captain Juushiro Ukitake and a friend of your son.” I introduce myself but I get nothing more than a cold stare under his spectacles, his book still opened in his hands.

“I’m aware.” He acknowledges after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence. I thought being in my brother’s presence in the past was uncomfortable and intimidating but what I’m feeling right now as this man looks at me, it’s almost unbearable and it makes me almost regret having come here in the first place but I can’t back away now.

I take a few steps forward and stop halfway, not really sure what he’ll do and provoking this man is the last thing I want. I didn’t come here to fight; I came for the sole intention of helping Uryuu. “You are the only Quincy other than Uryuu, he needs his powers back and I know a way to restore them or he’ll die-”

“And you felt the obligation to come here and tell me this? Things that I am already fully aware and took care of.” He cuts me off and wasted no time berating me about the subject with a cold tone to match that icy cold stare. I can’t tell if he has any worries or concerns about this subject, I can’t read him as well like I could back at the hospital. Somehow his expression and tone had been softer, more caring; now I just don’t know anymore.

“Took care of? Uryuu still has no powers.” I state, he can’t argue with that fact.

“I have done what I could; the rest will depend on his body. How long it will take? That I have no accurate answer for. Could take days, weeks or months.” How can he just speak so casually like that, we are talking about his son? A son that was very sick not too long ago, a son who was severely wounded by a Bount only four days ago and then attacked again the same day… By all means he should have more emotions about the subject; I think he might be even more emotionless than my brother if that was even possible.  

“I see…” I mutter to myself, looking down to my feet.

So he took the time to restore Uryuu’s powers but from what he claims are that it is not a quick process. Considering that captain Kurotsuchi did not have all the information required other than shooting a powerless Quincy with an arrow to the chest there might have been more to this process. A waiting period, somehow it makes sense but how long is unknown and quite frankly considering the problem we still have with these Bounts I don’t think we can afford having a powerless Uryuu when the Arrancars are now starting to make their moves.

“You’re still here.” His cold uninterested voice catches my attention, taking me out of my thoughts as I look up to see him starring at his book.

“Why did you keep the truth from Uryuu about you still having your Quincy powers?” I ask but I don’t get an answer, only a piercing ice cold stare. “Is this what Uryuu lives every day? Coldness from a man who should be a father?” I add and I know I should have stayed quiet, I shouldn’t have said anything but the words slipped through my lips and yet I don’t regret saying them.

He shuts the book he had been reading placing it on his desk before leaning back in his office chair. “You may be a friend of my son but I have nothing to say to you. I have work that needs to be done and so do you.”

Is that it, your work is more important than speaking about your son? The more I speak to this man, the more I regret having pushed to make Uryuu talk. He’s upset because of me and it wasn’t worth it…

“I might better understand your son now-”

“You have no children.” He cuts me off again, not sure if he’s asking a question or not but I shook my head in reflex.

He gets up, taking his book placing it in the over packed book shelf before turning his attention back to me. “You’ll do things for them that you know you shouldn’t do. You’ll act the fool to make them happy, to keep them safe by any means necessary even if they do not understand it. Now, go.”


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Ichigo**

Second time seeing this place and I still can’t get used to it but that’s just what it is huh… Uryuu’s home is beautiful and grand but that’s all there is to it isn’t it, what lies underneath is nothing to hold up justice to its exterior appearance. Nice, elegant and grand from the outside but empty and broken from the inside…

I was ignorant towards the Soul Society and accepted Uryuu’s help on a heartbeat because I considered him a friend and I knew I needed all the help I could get, I wasn’t foolish enough to think I could take on the Soul Society all by myself but it was only halfway through the invasion that it hit me. By allowing Uryuu to come with us, I unintentionally made him a target. He’s a Quincy after all and two hundred years ago they were said to have been completely wiped out but with Uryuu’s presence that status changed and the question they now wonder is exactly how many are really left.

Although Uryuu came with us to help save Rukia and it should be fucking obvious that’s all it was. Some would think Uryuu might have had an hidden agenda of his own and some might even think perhaps his dad might have put him up to it which I highly doubt it that he would deliberately place Uryuu in danger anyway.

There’s a lot of things that I don’t know but over my dead body I’ll allow anyone to execute Uryuu for being what he is, he hasn’t done anything wrong and I won’t stand for it if so much as a single scratch is done on his head.

Maybe I should have gotten my body back first but I didn’t want to waste my time running around to find where Kon ran off to. I doubt it that Uryuu will mind seeing me in my Soul Reaper form anyway, even if he doesn’t say it. He’s such an idiot and Rukia I know she meant well but she’s a few centuries late, her mentality and customs are outdated. We now live in a world where it’s rather common for parents to get divorce and use their kids as a tool to hurt one another. Parents having kids and then get drunk day and night while the kids have to raise themselves. In a world where rapist who impregnate a woman has every right to see his kid and there is nothing the girl can do about it. We live in a world that is so sick and twisted; Rukia couldn’t even come close to grasp that as a whole…

I can’t blame her for doing what she did, she needs answers and she’s doing the only thing she knows what to do and that’s to inquire the information that she needs to get Uryuu off the hook with the Soul Society but I know that wasn’t the only thing she asked him. Otherwise he wouldn’t have gotten this upset to the point of skipping school all together.

I know she attacked him about his relationship with his dad, I know she did but in all honesty it’s no one’s business even if we don’t like what we see. In the end Ryuuken is Uryuu’s dad and Uryuu is his son and how they act towards each other is up to them. Are they content? Probably not but there’s a reason why their relationship is the way it is and quite frankly no one can just walk up to them and try to fix something that’s been made from years ago in a few minutes. It just can’t be done.

I make my way to the backyard as I spot Uryuu’s bedroom window opened and waste no time to jump right up to the window sill to enter his room and there he is just lying on his bed, not doing anything. He sits up when I entered, can’t tell if he’s surprised or just doesn’t care but at least it looks like whatever Rukia told him, he calmed down.

“You alright?” I ask calmly, just trying assessing the situation.

I know for a fact he doesn’t have any intention of returning to school this afternoon, he changed out of his school uniform to a more casual look. Wide white collar woolen shirt with wide sleeves and a pair of white jeans to match with his shirt but if you ask me, Uryuu looks rather tired. I hope he’s not relapsing; I don’t want to see him in that state again. As a friend, it really wasn’t a good period seeing someone you care about so frail and sick.

“I’m tired of being interrogated, that’s all you guys have done since we got back from the Soul Society so just give it a rest…” He tells me.

Can’t argue with that, to be honest we’ve all acted rather poorly towards Uryuu ever since we found out about his poor health, it’s not like he didn’t have those problems before and he was managing just fine. I never should have treated him any differently, because of what I wanted we didn’t tell him a single thing about the Bounts and it nearly got him killed.

“It’s because we’re all worried about you. It’s just normal for us to ask questions because you won’t tell us anything otherwise.” I state as I walk up to his bed and he looks away, not wanting to meet my gaze for some odd reason. Predictable and nothing but a pain in the ass when he acts this way.

“I just don’t have anything to say…” He mumbles.

“I doubt it.” I blurt out as I sit down on the foot of his bed when something catches my eye and my reflex is to reach for his shirt and pull down on its collar to reveal some sort of pentacle mark on his chest. “Is that a birthmark?” I ask, my eyes glued unto the mark.

It strongly resembles a crest Uryuu often wears, if I’m not mistaken it’s a cross or pentacle thing concerning Quincies so do all Quincies have those markings on their chest? It’s weird and in a way I wonder if only people with high Spiritual Energy can see it or can everyone see it.

He lightly shakes his head before answering as he brushes off my hand to pull his collar back up hiding the mark. “No… It’s a scar that formed after my father shot me three days ago…”

Shot!? My eyes jolted upwards to meet Uryuu’s as he looks away in haste. His father fucking shot him!? My jaw is just hanging open as I try to grasp what he just said. His father fucking shot him he said and I’m not sure what is worst the fact that he got shot by his own father or how calmly he said it like it was nothing.

“What the fucking hell? Uryuu-”

“It’s alright. Apparently it’s what had to be done to restore my powers but nothing’s happened so far. Ryuuken says that this is the recuperation process so now I wait to see what happens…” He explains but still even if that’s what needed to be done how could a father just shoot his own son? The mark on his chest, I take it that the center of the pentacle is where the arrow must have hit… So near to Uryuu’s heart, if done incorrectly he could have died.

“How are you feeling?” I ask as I try to catch Uryuu’s gaze but he shifts away again.

“Fine, the training was just exhausting that’s all-”

“No I mean how are you feeling, your dad shot you after all. I know it was for the sake of restoring your powers but he still shot you.” I ask. I want to say more, I just don’t know what to say. I honestly don’t know what I’d do if my dad had done that to me, I’d probably be confused and I’d be hurt just knowing that my own dad, someone who is supposed to protect me would be able to do that to me.

Uryuu brings his knees closer to his chest, resting his chin in his knees as he looks down. “Yeah… I didn’t expect that, he left that part out before he started giving me his training Tuesday morning and  by nightfall I could barely move and…”

“He had to completely exhaust your body and mind before he could shoot that arrow.” I finish what he wanted to say. He doesn’t want to admit it but the fact that his dad willingly shot him, it hurt. “I get it, makes sense but I thought you said that your dad had forsaken his powers long ago.”

“I did but I guess I was wrong. Anyway it’s done now…” He answers.

Yeah I guess that’s all that matters however if Rukia has been reporting to the Soul Society everything that Uryuu has ever said then she must have told them what Uryuu had said about his dad no longer having any powers and now she had to report otherwise and in a sense making Uryuu a liar. I believe that might be the problem right now and from what Rukia told me, his dad is strong. Apparently Uryuu doesn’t even compare so is he friend or foe that’s the question the Soul Society hasn’t yet decided and if Ryuuken is an enemy, they’ll turn on Uryuu also. I can’t allow that to happen, I just can’t.

“Uryuu, when you get your powers back, don’t go fighting Hollows right away.” I blurt out catching Uryuu by surprise as he jolts his head up to look at me in disapproval.

“Ichigo-”

“It’s not about the illness.” I quickly cut him off. “I know you can handle a Hollow by yourself, it’s not that. I don’t know all of the details but you’re under surveillance from the Soul Society. Trust me and just stay low for now. Don’t do anything that could set them off.” I advise and somehow he doesn’t seem to be a bit surprise by what I just told him.

“Anyway, we still don’t know why the Bounts are after you so be careful.”

* * *

 

It’s been far too quiet for the past few days; we had a major battle with the Bounts not too long ago. It must have been a blow to their forces to have lost two in one go and yet we haven’t heard of anything from them since. I doubt it that they’ve given up on Uryuu but why him? What do they want with a Quincy?

Looks like a Quincy can sense them quite clearly; it can’t be just a coincidence and from what Urahara told me about the Bounts. Apparently they’ve been more active since the annihilation of the Quincies so they must have been a serious threat to the Bounts in the past. Maybe they don’t want Uryuu for any real purposes; maybe they just want him to instill their vengeance onto him for what the past Quincies have done to them. It would make sense but that female Bount, she basically stole Uryuu from that freak with the snakes. That’s the thing I just don’t understand, are Bounts all on the same side or are they all independent and if so that would mean the ones that attacked us in the hospital were there for their own agendas but somehow it makes more sense to me that the female Bount is the one acting independently while the freak and the twins were somehow connected to each other.

From what Uryuu said to me before I left his house, his dad had told him that he had intercepted the female Bount to get Uryuu but he didn’t say what happened to her. If she’s still alive or dead, only Ryuuken knows the truth and it seems like he has no interest in telling either.

For now I’ll be content that Uryuu is somewhat safe for now with Ryuuken around leaving me to concentrate on myself. Urahara said that the Visoreds would find me on their own accord but how long do I have to wait? The thing with my inner Hollow is a problem, I can’t control it at all and the thing is that I’m afraid of what he’ll do if he takes over my body again. He doesn’t care about anything but drawing blood, to kill. If any of my friends ever got hurt because of it, I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.

Where did Rukia run off to, my Soul Reaper badge didn’t respond to anything so I know she didn’t get a notification about a Hollow so why did she have to leave her gigai? Lately the Hollows that have started appearing, they seem to be much stronger than the usual ones that come here and there. Either they are getting stronger or I’ve gotten weaker. I can’t tell, with the problem with my inner Hollow I can’t rule out the possibility that it might be effecting me in battle. Damn that bastard!

What the hell is Zangetsu even doing? He should be able to pressure the inner Hollow to submit but he’s not doing anything! He only ever does what he wants and when he wants… I know Zangetsu is strong so why isn’t he doing anything about that bastard? Can’t he see that I can’t do it on my own, that bastard is trying to consume my entire existence? Damn it!

I don’t know what to do with myself, what to do? Why couldn’t Urahara just help me fix this problem himself? Why must I wait for those Visoreds to show up…? I wanted to keep Uryuu company a little longer when I visited him but right now I just don’t trust myself. If my inner Hollow comes out, would it be dangerous for Uryuu? Urahara did say what consist a Hollow is pure poison to a Quincy so am I-

A noise coming from my window catches my attention as I quickly sit up on my bed only to see that it’s just Rukia back in her gigai. About time, I was dying of boredom.

“Where the hell have you been?” I ask as I move away to give her room to enter.

She looks at me before allowing herself to drop on my bed, damn she looks exhausted. Just completely drained.

“At the hospital.” She tiredly answers.

“Did something happen? Is Uryuu-”

“He’s fine. I had to speak with his father, that’s all.” She cuts me off as she shakes her hands like it’s nothing. Damn Rukia don’t leave me hanging like that considering everything that’s been happening as of late.

“And?”

She lets out a sigh before bringing her hands under her head. “There isn’t much to say. I can confirm to the Soul Society that he’s definitely not a threat. He has no interest in anything and when I say anything I mean it.”

I’ll take it that she got to know a little about exactly how Ryuuken can be then. He’s cold and doesn’t say more than what he needs to from the little I’ve seen of him. He might not be home often with Uryuu being a doctor and director of a major hospital and all but even I can see that he’s devoted to Uryuu. I honestly don’t know how many doctors would place their own careers on the line to treat a family member. It’s practically forbidden, but Ryuuken treated his son himself even though knowing full well if Uryuu’s condition turned sour he could lose his licence and job but he did it anyway. Not many people would place their whole career on the line like he did but Ryuuken did it without a second thought. How Uryuu can still doubt his dad, that he isn’t love by him is beyond me.

If Rukia got the same treatment we got when I saw him at the hospital those few times well I can understand that it must have been pretty much of a shocker for Rukia. I even asked my dad about Ryuuken because I was worried about Uryuu at the time and I know that dad sometimes has to deal with the director of the Karakura Hospital so he knows him to some extent. Dad didn’t tell me much other that Ryuuken cares deeply for his kid. Dad wouldn’t lie to me to avoid a discussion that he didn’t want to talk about; he would have told me the harsh truth so I believe him.

“Trust me Rukia; there are worst parents out there then Uryuu’s. Don’t compare my family with others; you’ll only end up disappointed.” I tell her.

I’m not sure if she knows to the full extent of Orihime’s family, how her brother took her out of her abusive family once he turned eighteen. Her parents lived in alcohol and prostitution… Orihime is lucky to even still be alive but there are worse families than that still. If Rukia would know about that, then she probably wouldn’t think Ryuuken was that bad of a parent. True he’s not perfect… There's a lot of neglect on his part but the reality is that, it’s his job. If Uryuu’s mother were still alive, Ryuuken’s absence wouldn’t be such a big deal.

Another thing is that I think Rukia compares my family too much to Uryuu’s. Yeah both our fathers are in the medical field and own in a sense both their medical building but there is still a huge difference. Ryuuken manages a huge hospital with probably over a hundred patients daily and he also is responsible for major surgeries while my dad only cares for minor cases, nothing that is life threatening and another thing is that my dad works at home. The clinic is right here so even if he is working we see him often unless he has a meeting to attend. Ryuuken, he can’t work at home, he has to be at the hospital long hours. That’s the major differences that Rukia can’t see well.

“Yeah but still… Uryuu is his only son, the only thing he has left and yet…”

“I don’t know much but just by the look in that man’s eyes when I saw him that time at the hospital. Yeah they were cold and he did not speak more than needed to but one thing’s for sure, he’d kill for Uryuu.” I reassure her. I’d really hate to be anyone who would cause Uryuu any harm; I honestly think Ryuuken would really kill without a second thought.

“You’ll do things for them that you know you shouldn’t do. You’ll act the fool to make them happy, to keep them safe by any means necessary even if they do not understand it…” Rukia suddenly blurts out after a few minutes of silence and I just can’t help but look at her confused. Exactly what is she mumbling about?

“What?”

She sits up, resting her back against the wall before looking at me. “Something he told me before I left. I wonder what exactly he meant by it… You’ll do things for them that you know you shouldn’t do. It can mean so many things…”

“If you ask me, sounds like he just admitted to you that he’d do anything to keep Uryuu safe. Whether it be honorable or not, whatever that could be a threat to his kid, he’ll eliminate it without a second thought.” I explain and in a sense he indirectly gave Rukia a threat but not to her but to anyone who would want to come harm his son. He’s a Quincy and he knows what that means in the eyes of the Soul Reapers and I think maybe it’s not that he’s not interested in being a Quincy, he probably is just as interested in it than Uryuu but for his son’s sake he chose to tell him otherwise and it just makes perfect sense only thing is that Uryuu hasn’t realized it yet which is surprising considering how good he is putting puzzle pieces together.

“Now that you said it like that, I guess it does make sense but anyway I know he’s not a threat.” She replies in a low tone.

“Good, now I can properly focus with my own problems.” I add. If only those damn Visoreds can show their damn faces and start this fucking training. Time isn’t on my side, I need this problem fixed before Aizen makes his move, I need to be stronger. Right now, I can’t even beat a damn Bount on my own, how will I be able to beat a damn Arrancar at this level.

 


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Rukia**

Last night Ichigo told me about a problem that had occurred when he was getting his Soul Reaper powers restored and that he didn’t just have his own powers awaken again but that of a Hollow as well and that it was now causing Ichigo some difficulties lately during battles.  

His inner Hollow he likes to call it is constantly trying to take over his being and that night in the hospital I saw a brief of it until Ichigo was able to regain his senses.

Urahara told Ichigo that some Soul Reapers who had acquired Hollow powers known as Visoreds would help him to master this orthodox powers of his on their own terms which he didn’t know when or how that would be but to be honest I’ve never heard of any Soul Reapers having acquired Hollow powers in the past. To be honest I thought it was actually impossible for a Soul Reaper to even survive an Hollowfication and still keep their sanity, it’s just unheard of.

Unfortunately I can’t stay and wait for them to show up and I really want to be there for Ichigo during that time period for support in case the worst should happen. However, that’s something he will have to do on his own but I have complete faith that he will be alright. He always is and I’m certain once he does this training he will be much stronger.

To be honest he has to be. Especially now that things are in full motion, we can no longer just sit around, wait and do nothing but first thing’s first I have to settle the Quincy matter at the Soul Society while it’s still fresh.

Thanks to my brother’s influence I was able to receive a hearing with the Head Captain to report my findings on such a short notice so while I’m here, Renji will be taking my place and keeping an eye open for any other Arrancars that may show up in the world of the living. They’ve already caused enough trouble as it is so if this keeps up, we’ll be in serious trouble.

“I take it that you have all that you need to prove the complete innocence of the ishidas?”

“Yes, brother.” I answer with outer most confidence.

So many things have changed here in the Soul Society since Ichigo came to save me from my grim fate, especially my brother. Our relationship is more open and now contrary to before he looks at me and even does attempt to engage in small conversations here and there and that is all thanks to Ichigo. For the first time I am truly proud to be part of the Kuchiki family, I feel as if I truly belong here.

“Very well… Come Rukia.” He tells me as he turns and starts walking away and I closely follow in tow beside him.

“Brother, before we go I have been meaning to speak to you about something that has me concerned.” I say but much to my dismay he doesn’t stop walking and simply answers that it can wait after the hearing. “I’m afraid that it can’t brother.” I quickly add, carefully choosing my tone not to show any signs of disrespect.

I hear him sigh before looking at me as he answered. “Very well… Tell me on the way there.”

After knowing my brother for so many years now, I find it strange talking with him like this and yet it feels so right. I’ve never been prouder to be part of the Kuchiki clan as much as I do now and with each passing day, my respect for my brother keeps on growing ever the more.

“It’s about Captain Kurotsuchi.” I say as I study his facial expression for a few seconds before continuing. “I’ve recently learned from the Captain himself that he has implanted a certain type of bacteria within Uryuu Ishida for surveillance purposes.” I add.

I had meant to talk about this to my brother before but with Uryuu’s condition I couldn’t allow myself to linger around and since in a sense Uryuu was being monitored I thought it might help if he was ever attacked by a Bount but in the end it didn’t do much good.

Captain Kurotsuchi does whatever he likes and I honestly think that even if he had seen that Uryuu was on the edge of life and death he wouldn’t lift a finger to save him. As much as he is a brilliant man he’s psychotic and he just makes me uneasy whenever he is around.

“Not surprising…” My brother answers calmly, a little too calm if you ask me but that’s just how he is. My brother never loses his composer no matter the circumstances; he truly is a great example to us all.

“Yes, I have to admit it did not surprise me for him to do something so inhuman but I do not believe this to be right. It is a complete violation of human rights, after all Uryuu is still a Ryoka and ally.” I explain my point of view and the rights that Uryuu has, well should have none the less even though he is a Quincy.

“A dangerous Ryoka none the less.” He states much to my surprise that he’d somehow agree with captain Kurotsuchi’s sick method and that he somewhat believes Uryuu to be some sort of a threat.

Uryuu is not a threat to us nor to the world of the living and thus should not be treated as such and if words of what captain Kurotsuchi has done to Uryuu would ever reach his father’s ears I fear he might and could retaliate against us and frankly he’d be in every right to do so.

The only thing that I know of those bacterias are that they are being used to spy on Uryuu’s every activities but I don’t know if those things could be used to kill him also if captain Kurotsuchi ever decided that he was tired of Uryuu and if so Ryuuken would have every right to take that not only as a violation of privacy but a danger to his son. He won’t stand for this.

“But brother Uryuu is not-”

“We’ll speak of this matter afterwards…” He cuts me off before the large doors of the captain’s meeting room opens revealing all the captains in dual lines with the Head Captain at the end of the large room as we enter with the door closing behind us shortly afterwards.

Brother leaves me to take his position in the captain’s line up and all eyes are glued on me as I walk forward to stand in front of the Head Captain and much to my surprise even my captain is present. Usually he’s much too ill to attend meetings or hearings so he must view what I have to say to be of outer most importance or he fears for Uryuu’s well-being also and frankly I’m thankful that he’s here.

“Rukia Kuchiki of squad thirteen, you have requested a hearing with the captains of the thirteen court guard squad concerning the matters of the Quincies located in Karakura town in the world of the living.” The Head Captain says, his voice booming throughout the room.

I do a quick bow to demonstrate my respect and do my best to make my brother proud before speaking. “Yes head captain, I have gained all the necessary information about the two Quincies and I believe my findings should be more than enough.”

“Are they boon or bane to the very survival of both the world of the living and the Soul Society?” He asks and I can feel the tension fill up in the room as they all wait for my answer.

I can’t help but feel a little nervous as I stand in front of the Head Captain. He’s old and wise but he can also shut down his personal feelings and place duty above everything else.

I may not view Uryuu and his father as a bane to both worlds but it doesn’t mean that the other captains will agree with what I will say and in the end it will be up to them. They will decide the final verdict for the fate of both Quincies and the thought of what would happen to Uryuu is just frightening if the captains would choose death.

If Uryuu and his father are ruled as a bane to both worlds, the Soul Society will send their best killers to go after the Quincies. Ryuuken will defend himself and his son, he will then put up a brave fight but when it comes to annihilation there is no honor. With Uryuu defenseless one or two will capture Uryuu, get Ryuuken to drop his bow in surrender or they will kill his son if he doesn’t comply and he will for his child’s sake.

Once he has surrendered the father will be executed first to prevent him from fighting back as Uryuu will watch in horror before he himself will be put under the blade and then it will be all over.

Just thinking about something like that happening is enough to send shiver down my spine.

“They are without a doubt not enemies of either worlds head captain.” I declare with confidence.

“Rukia Kuchiki, you reported before that Uryuu Ishida claimed to be the only Quincy remaining and that his father had absolutely no powers but recent sources claimed otherwise to be false.” Captain Kyoraku voices out catching my attention in the process as I turn around to meet his interrogative gaze. 

“I will not deny the previous statement that Uryuu Ishida had made but the thing is that he had no knowledge of his father’s status himself. His statement has since changed after his father made his powers known back at the hospital during our confrontation with two Bounts.” I state. “Furthermore, Ryuuken Ishida has absolutely no interest in the aspect of fighting Hollows. His only concern is his son, nothing more.” I further explain as I turn my gaze back towards the Head Captain.

If Uryuu had not been with us that night in the hospital, I’m positive that Ryuuken would never have come to help us. He wouldn’t have lifted a single finger even if the Bounts were causing damage to his hospital. The only reason he risked his own safety of being prosecuted by the Soul Society was to save his son and nothing more.

“Would he fight for our cause?” Captain Suì-Fēng suddenly asks and I wished she hadn’t because even though I am certain that Ryuuken wouldn’t start any conflict with the Soul Society, I know for a fact that he isn’t going to try and help us again Aizen unless his son’s survival would depend on it which I doubt Aizen would be interested in a Quincy.

“No, he doesn’t strike me as the type of person that would. He is a single father, his only priority is to his son and the only reason Ryuuken has made his presence known was to eliminate the Bounts who were a threat to his son.” I answer and back then if Ryuuken truly wanted he could have killed us all too but he didn’t. He’s not an enemy.

“I don’t trust that man; he’ll turn on the Soul Society the moment he-”

“The man killed two Bounts effortlessly. It’s rather obvious that he identifies a being as an enemy if they are a threat to his son.” My brother cuts off captain Suì-Fēng much to her annoyance but she doesn’t argue back, after all brother brought up a great point and no one ever argues with my brother for he always speaks wisely.  

“We can’t ignore the problem with the Bounts; they have to be dealt with immediately. We don’t know if they have allied themselves with Aizen and if they did it would be quite problematic after all even a lieutenant level officer has problems dealing with just one and who knows how many there are.” Captain Kyoraku states before continuing as he steps forward from the line. “We know for a fact that they are interested in obtaining a Quincy, even though he no longer has any powers and quite frankly that’s a bigger problem.”

“The Quincy being powerless is only temporarily. He’ll regain his powers but shortly, his recovery is not progressing in much haste.” Captain Kurotsuchi states catching everyone’s attention in the process.

“Exactly how would you even know that?” Captain Zaraki asks and I can feel the animosity between the two.

“I have much reasons to observe the Quincy, the boy is a rare specimen it’d be foolish not to.” Captain Kurotsuchi answers.

I can’t even believe that he has no shame of admitting in a sense that he’s been spying on Uryuu only because he views him as a rare specimen which is kind of creepy.

Now all thanks because of him, all sorts of things are going through my mind as to what captain Kurotsuchi has seen with those creepy disgusting bacterias that are housed inside Uryuu’s body.

Uryuu’s habits, things that he only does when he’s alone and also meaning that captain Kurotsuchi has seen Uryuu when bathing! Please don’t tell me that he finds all of that interesting as information for him to study on and if so that is just more than creepy, it’s sick. It makes Gin Ichimaru look like a saint compared to captain Kurotsuchi.

“Enough.” The Head Captain says loudly and everyone goes quiet and watches as to what he’ll say next. “As of this moment the two Quincies, the son and father will be spared. However if they show any signs of becoming a threat they will be eliminated.” He further adds.

I know for a fact that they won’t show any signs of being a threat so I’m not one bit worried and now I’m rather relieved to know the Head Captain’s final verdict. I can’t say the same thing for the other captains but I’m fairly certain that I have my brother on my side even though he hasn’t officially declared it. I know I can count on him and on my captain.

“About the Ryoka’s safety concerning the Bounts, what of it Head Captain?” Captain Unohana asks.

“A unit shall be formed to deal with the incoming Arrancars and to exterminate the Bounts once and for all.”

* * *

 

**Chapter 15.5**

**Uryuu**

The only thing the training Ryuuken did was to make me even more tired than I already was, my energy just won’t replenish no matter how much I sleep.

When he came home, I was certain that he would have lectured me for skipping school yesterday but he didn’t. Instead he told me that I should rest and that was it.

I seriously don’t understand him, yesterday morning he told me that I should concentrate on things that I had control over in other words he meant my schoolwork and then he tells me that I should prioritize my health before school but to be honest, I really don’t mind being able to stay home at ease without having to worry about being scolded for doing so.

Right now I just can’t concentrate on anything so going to school would just be a complete waste of time.

Ryuuken didn’t seem too worried this morning when I told him that I still did not feel any different, that my powers still had not recovered and that I was still very tired even though I slept over eight hours.

He wasn’t worried or concern in the slightest about my lack of progress saying that it just takes time and that it would be a good lesson to teach me patience.

I am patient; I know certain things take time. I know that but what he doesn’t understand and that he doesn’t let me explain is that I don’t understand the process for my powers to be restored. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel, is this sudden lack of energy a first symptom that my powers are starting to manifest or is it a more serious sign that something is going wrong with my health again?

Ryuuken never tells me anything just like he always kept to himself that he still had Quincy powers away from me. He keeps everything a secret from me and then he lectures me for being a fool because I did a mistake. If only he would tell me things instead of making me guess and find the answers all by myself but he doesn’t and that’s something I hate about him.

Anyway…

I felt Rukia’s spiritual pressure disappear this morning and not long afterwards I sensed Renji Abarai’s instead so I’m guessing that she must have returned back to the Soul Society for whatever reason. If I’d take a guess it would probably be something concerning what Ichigo said yesterday about the Soul Society keeping tabs on me because I’m a Quincy.

Apparently Rukia is working on clearing my name and that of Ryuuken’s not that it surprises me in the slightest. I knew I’d be making myself a target once I’d enter the Soul Society but with the problem with Aizen I guess it made my case a little bit more complicated but I haven’t done anything wrong nor did Ryuuken so I know things will turn out for the best in the end.

Ever since the confrontation at the hospital I haven’t sensed any Bounts but I have been sensing strange spiritual pressures that I know belongs to Hollows but they are not your everyday classes so I’ll assume that Aizen might be starting to make his move so it would explain why Renji Abarai is here in Karakura town.

Anyway, at least today is a nice day. I can still enjoy a few more warm days before autumn officially sets in when a burst of strong spiritual pressure suddenly hits me like a jolt as I get up from the grass I had been lying on for a few hours. It definitely belongs to that of a Hollow, no mistake about it but it’s much stronger than your average every day Hollow and from what I can tell there’s more than just one too in different locations.

From what I can sense, two appeared at the Tsubakidai Park and another around the Kinogaya district near of the remains of the Sukari building if I’m not mistaken and without a doubt they are indeed powerful so my guesses they must be the so called Arrancars that we’ve been warned about and if so it must mean that Aizen is really starting to make his move.

I sense Renji’s spiritual pressure going towards the Kinogaya district while Chad and Orihime are going after the ones that arrived at the park but where is Ichigo? Now that I stop to think about it, the last time I’ve sensed his spiritual pressure was this morning and now I can’t sense it at all. I thought that maybe he had went with Rukia but it doesn’t make any sense for him to have gone to the Soul Society since he’s just a substitute Soul Reaper so where the hell is he?

Damn… Without my powers I can’t go and help. I hate knowing that Orihime is going to fight those two Hollows. Even though Chad will be with her, I hate what I’m sensing about those two. They are without a doubt stronger than the one that Renji is going after.

Ichigo… Where did you run off to?

Like always he didn’t tell me anything yesterday before he left. The only thing that he did say was that I should keep a low profile when my powers return and to keep an eye open for Bounts but nothing else…

“Looks like a fierce battle is happening over there.”

I quickly turn around at the sudden voice behind me as I sense the particular spiritual pressure.

“You’re a Bount…” I blurt out, debating on what I should do but it's the first time I see this Bount.

If I try to run, she’ll probably go after me but if I try to fight, I know I won’t stand a chance without my powers.

This woman, she sure is fast. I didn’t even sense her until she spoke but the fact that my mind is wandering off, worrying about what’s going on over there with those Arrancars didn’t help, she caught me off guard…  That was a foolish mistake on my part.

Chad and Orihime, they’re having a hard time and from what I can tell only one of the Arrancars is fighting, the other one doesn’t seem to be doing anything but watch.

“Obviously, after all you can sense us quite clearly can you?” She says as she gives me a soft smile.

“What it is that you want?” I ask, taking a few steps back when she comes a bit closer. “You Bounts are cowards. You wait for my friends to be occupied with other matters just so they won’t get in the way-”

“I won’t hurt you.” She calmly cuts me off as she raises her hands up in a way to try and assure me that she’s being sincere and not a threat but I seriously doubt that. The first time I encountered a Bount, that one tried to molest me and then proceeded to smash my head on the ground and the last encounter I had, they would have killed my friends if it hadn’t been for Ryuuken and who knows what they would have done to me.

“Right…” I mumble.

“I saved you from Utagawa, before he could have his way.” She quickly adds like she’s trying to get me to drop my guard or something but if I assume that she is telling me the truth then Utagawa, that must be that first Bount that attacked me so that must mean…

“That was you?” I ask.

“That’s right and while I was escaping I ran into your father.” She answers as she takes a few steps towards me and I back away again and she stops. “He was actually very willing to kill me that day.” She adds as I try to study her expression but she’s hard to read. There isn’t any emotions in her face; even the smile she occasionally gives me isn’t genuine. Well it’s not menacing or shady, it’s more like it's forced as if she's trying to hide her true feelings for some reason.

“So why didn’t he?” I ask and that’s something I’m finding rather strange, is why Ryuuken didn’t kill her when he had the chance. He didn’t hesitate to kill those two Bounts the other night so why did he choose to let her live?

“My original plan was to take you directly to him but I didn’t have to, he found me first.” She explains and now I’m just confused. Aren’t Bounts technically the bad guys here who enjoy eating human souls so why would she want to take me to my father if she already had me for herself and somehow I don’t feel like she’s lying.

She walks over to the swing, takes a seat before continuing her explanation. “Considering how he is, I was rather surprised to see him in such a hurry to save his son. He left his job without a second thought; for once I’m glad that I was wrong.”

“You sound like you’ve been spying on us for a long time.” I blurt out not long before a powerful wave of spiritual pressure catches my attention.

My eyes nervously shift towards the female Bount and back towards the direction where Chad and Orihime are and back to her and if I didn’t know any better I could assume that she didn’t feel a thing but I know she felt that sudden burst of spiritual pressure just now and yet she’s completely ignoring it.

The fight over there, it’s not going good and so far I haven’t sensed Ichigo’s spiritual pressure not even once and what’s worst I can sense Chad’s and Orihime’s spiritual pressure drop little by little while their opponent hasn’t even gotten a little bit weaker.

“I’ve been watching for some time now. I won’t deny it but I have my reasons.” She simply answers not that it helps to put my mind at ease while I know that my friends are in danger and there’s nothing that I can do about it… I can’t do anything but if she’s being honest about not being a threat to me, then maybe…

“I’ve been told that you’re powerful and if you’re not on the side of the other Bounts, why don’t you help us defeat those Hollows that appeared not long ago?” I ask but somehow I have a feeling that she’s not interested in what’s going on over there in the slightest.

“Why fight an opponent when you know you don’t stand a chance?” She answers after a few seconds of silence before getting up and I can’t deny that she has a point. “I cannot win against such opponents but they are also not my priority. You are.”

I had a feeling she’d say that but is she really serious that she’d be no match against those Arrancars because if she doesn’t stand a chance then there is no way Chad and Orihime will win. Ichigo did say that the male Bount was weaker than the female that saved me which is her and they couldn’t even beat him or her.

Actually from what Ichigo told me the two Bounts from the hospital were stronger than the Bount she called Utagawa and if none of them could defeat any of the Bounts, there is no way we’ll win against the Arrancars, not at our current level anyway.

“I need you to come with me now. Kariya has caught your scent and he’s coming, you can’t stay here.” She suddenly states, her voice hinting a sense or urgency as she comes closer to me but this time I don’t back away. “Please trust me, I will explain everything later but for now we have to go.” She adds.

I look back towards the direction I know Chad and Orihime are and I know something bad is happening over there. Chad’s spiritual pressure is dropping fast and I can sense Orihime isn’t fairing any better but there’s nothing I can do and that is what’s the most frustrating about this.

“Uryuu... We have to go, now.” She urges as she takes my wrist in her hands, inviting me to follow and I don’t know why but I go along. I can’t help but feel like I can trust this Bount, I just hope my decision won’t come back to haunt me.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Uryuu**

Perhaps Orihime didn’t heal my head injury properly the other night cause what was I thinking that it be perfectly okay to trust this Bount and go with her? I don’t even know her name, not that she even tried to introduce herself either and at this point I don’t think she has any intention of doing so.

I’ve been told to keep an eye out for Bounts for my own safety because of some unknown reason they are after me due to what I am. Trusting them should be the last thing I should consider and yet I don’t feel like I’m in any sort of danger with this woman which makes absolutely no sense what so ever but I am wary of her a little.

It’s hard to explain… I don’t even understand it myself but I believe that maybe she is truly genuine but her past actions doesn’t remove the slight doubt in the back of my mind and I can’t tell if she senses my uneasiness or she simply doesn’t care.

She attacked not only her own kind but also my own friends and allies, people whom wanted absolute no harm to come to me but only wanted to save and protect me.

She claimed that she wanted to cause me no harm and yet her actions towards my friends still remain unjustified. She had no reason to attack them but she claims that she simply wanted to take me to Ryuuken for my own safety and that he had intercepted her on the way unless she has other motives that I’m unaware of and what she told me was just half the truth. That maybe she never had any intentions of bringing me to Ryuuken that time and that she was just completely unprepared when he showed up.

Ryuuken must know that I’m with her, he has to… After all he didn’t intercept her like he did before so I guess it’s okay that I’m with her, he must trust her to some extent right?

It’s done now… No use fretting about the choice that I made to follow her here but when she told me that I needed to flee because I was in danger, I honestly thought she would have taken me to Ryuuken directly but instead she brought me here, in her own home which is what is making me feel a bit uneasy.

No one knows that I’m here and I’m alone and defenseless with this Bount that I know nothing about. I know it was foolish of me for going with her but if I had resisted how would it have turned out? Would she have used force and forcefully dragged me away?

I casually look around my surroundings; there isn’t much in this small apartment. I’m not certain if maybe she just hasn’t been here for long which I highly doubt it somehow and yet there isn’t anything on a single wall. Not a poster or a picture. There isn’t even a single decoration anywhere just to brighten up the room, no curtains or anything.

I’m no expert on women but from the little that I remember of mom, she was the one that decorated the house. She was the one that made it look like a home and after she died, everything has stayed the same. Ryuuken has never tried to change anything and I remember once the maid had changed few minor things around the house when she was cleaning and when he came home from work he changed everything back like it previously was but I never dared to ask him why…

They say that a person’s home says a lot about the individuals living there and if I take everything that I’ve seen here, she’s empty. Hollow. This home isn’t warm or welcoming…

I wonder what happened to Chad and Orihime after the battle was over… Halfway I suddenly felt Chad’s spiritual pressure drop and from Orihime’s I could tell that she was hurt but what worried me the most was that their opponent didn’t seem to be in any pain what so ever. Like it wasn’t even trying against them…

I couldn’t help but feel the frustration build up inside me, I wanted to run in the other direction and go to them but what could I have done…? Nothing. I would only have been in the way and the only thing that I can find comfort in right now is that Urahara and Yoruichi arrived at the scene to intervene and forcing the two Arrancars to retreat back where they came from.

However not once did I feel Ichigo’s spiritual pressure, even now I can’t sense him at all. It’s like he just disappeared without a single trace or maybe something happened, maybe he had to go with Rukia back to the Soul Society but somehow I don’t feel like he did go there. I just don’t see the purpose of him going there in the first place; he’s just a substitute Soul Reaper…

Ichigo can be clueless and a bit too reckless at times but he would never just sit back and do nothing while Chad and Orihime fought an opponent that they knew that they couldn’t win from the start. He would have gone into that fight head first without delay, even if he knew that he himself couldn’t win. That’s just the kind of person that he is so something must have happened preventing him from going but what…?

His inner hollow maybe…?

“You worry about your friends.”

The Bounts’ voice takes me out of my thoughts as I look up. Her back to me as she just looks down her window, watching the people walking across the busy street as the bell plays its 5’oclock chime.

“Because I know they got hurt…” I answer and that’s the worst part right now. Knowing that I couldn’t help them and I know maybe I wouldn’t have been much help but at least I would have known that I would have tried. “I thought you’d take me to my father.” I add as I change the subject. The last thing that I want is to talk about my friends with a Bount, it’s none of her business.

“That’s what Kariya would have expected. I couldn’t take the risk of running into him when I had you with me.” She explains before turning around, holding her mug closer to her lips as she carefully takes a sip of her coffee.

“What exactly does he want with me?” I ask with much curiosity as I try not to be too obvious but I really want to know and yet somehow I don’t feel like I’ll be getting much from her. Her facial expression always calm and yet cold, no emotions at all except for the occasional light smile she gives me here and there but I know it’s empty.

“I don’t know. Only that a Quincy is needed for Kariya to succeed in his plan, he never told me much of the details.” She calmly replies much to my dismay not like I was expecting much anyway but deep down I was hoping that I was wrong.

I want answers, I want to know why I’m being targeted and why only me. What I find the most frustrating in all of this is that no one is telling me anything. I don’t know if they really do not know anything or they do but are just upholding the information from me for whatever reason they may have.

I can’t put it past everyone for keeping secrets from me. They’ve done it before and I know that they’ll do it again… Well Ichigo has done it again. I know something is going on with him and he chose not to say a single thing about it and from my guesses he mustn’t have told anyone either so I’m not the only one in the dark about his situation but still it’s frustrating.

“I have to speak to Urahara. No matter how strong you say Kariya is, I’ll be fine with Urahara.” I quickly blurt out as I get up from the couch.

“You’re confident in your friends. Odd that a Quincy is seeking out a Soul Reaper instead of one of his own…” She calmly remarked without moving from her spot as she takes another sip of her coffee.

From her actions right now towards my request, she doesn’t seem very willing or interested in accepting what I’ve asked of her. Like she has absolutely no intention of going near Urahara but that’s probably because he’s a Soul Reaper who has contact with the Soul Society now since he’s been cleared from his past charges or maybe she just doesn’t want me to leave.

Maybe Bounts have had problems with the Soul Reapers in the past just like the Quincies which wouldn’t be surprising since they have been feeding off live humans but right now I have to speak with Urahara. I know he probably doesn’t have any information about my problem but I have to know what happened to Chad and Orihime. I have to know how they are doing and what exactly happened back there. I just have to get some information about the Arrancars and also if he knows anything that could have happened to Ichigo.

“Maybe but… I trust him. It’s either that or you take me to Ry…” I add before stopping my sentence short. “Take me to my father.” I demand but she remains completely unfazed like I didn’t ask her anything.

“I assure you that you’re safe here-”

“It’s not about my own safety but with me being here, I also pose a danger for you.” I cut her off but I don’t raise my voice as I spoke. Trying to remain as calm as possible but I know I can’t stay here. “You’ve been so kind to me, I’d feel terrible if anything were to happen to you.”

I don’t feel like this woman is a threat to me and yet I no longer feel that I can stay here for much longer. I have to get away from here, from her but I don’t want to do anything that could provoke her and turn the situation even worse. It could be only my paranoia talking but I’d rather be surrounded by familiar faces than with someone that I can hardly read.

“I can’t tell you how touched I am of your concern for my welfare…” She says after a few minutes of silence, giving me a light and gentle smile before adding. “But if you feel that you have to go then you have to go.”

* * *

**Chapter 16.5**

**Ichigo**

I’m going to kill them; seriously I am going to murder them all!

What the hell was Mr. Hat and clogs thinking letting me train with those guys?

I guess in a way that their method was efficient and I feel much stronger now compared to when I first started. Actually I feel like I’m more in control of myself and I have to say that I feel great, better than ever but they are all completely insane.

For starters Shinji is totally crazy. At first I thought he was some sort of Hollow, an Arrancar to be more precise when he just attacked me out of the blue with his Hollow mask on his face.

I was returning from Uryuu’s when he just attacked and basically tried to kill me before he removed his mask and introduced himself and why he did what he did which didn’t help to reduce my urge to beat the hell out of him.  

He told me exactly what Urahara had said but he didn’t give me much of an option to work with. If I wanted the training that he could provide I had to accept his proposition right on the spot. There was no second chance or any time to think about my options, I had to give him my decision right away and the training would commence immediately.

I needed that training, I couldn’t deny it; I had to get control over my inner Hollow before something bad would happen. I had no choice if I wanted to be able to fight with my full strength and actually be able to stand a chance against those damn Arrancars and those fucking Bounts. Everyone is counting on me to pull through, I just couldn’t let them down so I accepted the offer but when I finished the training I came back to hell.

Arrancars had finally made their first move and my friends got caught up into this whole mess. Chad got hurt pretty bad and also did Orihime. She received grave injuries but Chad’s were much worse so instead of healing herself she instead turned her focus onto Chad instead.

Damn it!

I was eager for that training because I wanted to protect everyone but I wasn’t here when the Arrancars came to attack. Shit!

When I talked to Orihime not long ago, she said that she understood why I wasn’t there and that Chad was never expecting me to show up but I know Uryuu… Uryuu knew I wasn’t around. He’s great at sensing spiritual pressure, he must have known that I didn’t go to help Chad and Orihime back there and that’s a problem.

I promised Uryuu that I wouldn’t keep him in the dark about anything because of his loss of powers but it totally crossed out of my mind to tell him, hell to anyone that I was waiting for some lunatics to show up and train me. I didn’t even know when they would pop up…

“Ichigo!”

Rukia’s voice takes me out of my thoughts as I turn towards her, she looks tense and stressed I wonder what’s up.

“Ichigo have you seen Uryuu?” She asks completely out of breath, her hands on her knees as she tries to get some air into her lungs.

“No I haven’t, I was just about to go see how he is.” I tell her when it hit me like a flash. “Did something happen?”

“Uryuu is under surveillance like you know.” She starts, still trying to catch her breath as she continues. “I was informed a Bount approached Uryuu this morning and he went with her during the scuffle with the Arrancar attack.”

No. This can’t be happening. This just can’t be fucking happening. Uryuu was under surveillance. He should have been fine. I told him… Godamn it!

“What the hell!? I told Uryuu to keep an eye open for the Bounts! What the hell was he thinking-?”

“From my sources Uryuu is still powerless; it couldn’t be helped without provoking a fight. We have to find him.” She quickly cuts me off and that’s right he still doesn’t have his powers but still…

“You don’t have to tell me that!” I shoot back at her, trying to control my building anger. “I’ll take West of Karakura town; I’m more familiar with that area. Rukia you take the East side.” I add.

“Alright, I’ll tell Renji to look to the North-East and I’ll take to the South. Be careful Ichigo, we don’t know what the Bount will do.” She warns me, not like she needed to but I get it. Without a doubt those Bounts are dangerous but this time it won’t be like the hospital fiasco. This time I’ll win.

“Yeah I know.” I respond and without another word she runs off and I do the same as I dial Uryuu’s cell number but all I get is a constant ringing before I get his voice mail.

Damn it why must everything happen all at the same time!? Those damn Bounts, they knew that everyone would be busy dealing with the sudden appearance of the Arrancars. They saw their opportunity to abduct Uryuu and they took it like the cowardly bastards that they fucking are.

If there is as so much as a single scratch on Uryuu’s head nothing will stop me of finding every single last one of those damn fucking Bounts and I’ll exterminate every last one of them myself. Uryuu is innocent, he didn’t ask for this and only because he’s a damn Quincy.

I’m glad that I Rukia ran into me just now and I appreciate her alerting me to what was going on but what the hell was the Soul Society doing? They knew that Uryuu got approached by a Bount and that it took Uryuu away but they did nothing to stop it. Seriously what the hell!? What kind of surveillance are they even doing and first of all what the hell is Uryuu’s dad even doing? Why didn’t he come to save his son?

Nothing is making any sense but that doesn’t matter right now, I have to find Uryuu and fast. From what Orihime told me, the Arrancars attacked late this morning and that should be around the time Uryuu was abducted and now it’s past seven, Uryuu’s been missing for more than nine hours now. A lot of things could have happened to him by then, shit!

A noise suddenly catches my attention as I go still and quiet to try and listen in case that I could hear it again but I’m just presented with complete silence. When I’m convinced that it was probably nothing I hear it again.

I waste no time taking out my combat pass in my hand as I carefully approach the source of the noise only to find that it’s just the voice of a woman but it’s when I see to whom it belonged to. With no mistake, without a doubt it’s the female Bount from the other day and with her is Uryuu.

The Bount doesn’t seem to have noticed me but I’m sure that Uryuu sensed me from a mile away. He knows that I’m here but so far, he seems to be fine. He doesn’t look like he’s injured and the Bount doesn’t seem to be holding him against his will so exactly what is going on?

I carefully observe for a few more minutes just to see what she’ll do when she suddenly reaches for Uryuu’s face before pressing her lips against his and I can tell that he’s just as surprised by her actions as I am and before I even realized it I ran up towards them causing the Bount to quickly pull away and retreated in all haste without putting a fight.

“Uryuu are you alright?” I ask as I grab onto his shoulders forcing him to turn to face me rather too brusquely in my panic as I quickly inspect for any injuries he might, could have.

“I’m fine…” He simply replies but nothing more as I let go of my grasp of his shoulders much to my relief but I can tell he’s a bit uncomfortable. Well I can’t blame him; I think I’d feel the same way if some inhuman thing tried to kiss me without my consent.

“What was that about?” I ask as I look around, seems like the Bount really did flee when she saw me. I can’t tell if she’s nearby but what I’m more worried about at the moment was she trying to eat Uryuu’s soul just now?  

When I come to think about it, I’ve never seen a Bount actually eat a human. Every time they had eaten someone, the bodies had already turned into fine dust and if she did attempt to eat him just now well things have just changed for the worst. Uryuu can no longer be just under surveillance, someone has to be with him twenty-four seven until his powers return to him. His very life is in danger here, the Soul Society better start getting their act together, if Uryuu dies because of their lack of responsibilities…

“I don’t know…” He answered taking me out of my thoughts as he presses his fingers to his lips for a few seconds.

“At least you’re alright. Rukia is in a frenzy; she got alerted that you got abducted.” I tell him as I take out my cell and send a quick message to Rukia that I had found Uryuu uninjured but that I seriously needed to talk to her about what I had just witnessed.

“I don’t have my powers-”

“I know… I was told what happened today. With the Arrancars.” I cut him off.

I know it’s not his fault that he was taken by the Bount; actually it was smarter of him to simply comply to what she wanted then to be stubborn and difficult. He could have been seriously injured otherwise and right now he’s perfectly fine which is what is important right now the most but I fear what the Soul Society might say about this. It still doesn’t change the fact that Uryuu did go with her but they also have to understand the situation that he’s in right now. It’s not Uryuu’s fault. The fault lies solemnly with me and me alone. It won’t happen again, I’ll make sure of it.

“Yeah… Where were you? Although I was far away, I could sense the battle was turning ugly way too quickly.” His voice grew firmer and sharper with each word as he spoke and I can’t blame him. I should have been there and I can only imagine what went through in his mind. He’s angry with me and I understand… I’m angry at myself too but now that I have my inner Hollow under complete control, things will be different.

“It’s a long story and it’s getting late. I’m sure your dad will be wondering where you are, I’ll tell you on the way.” I explain which he agrees to my suggestion without trying to argue which is new considering how much we would often fight with each other.

It’s strange how his sickness and this whole Bount situation, we’ve gotten closer and I can understand Uryuu much better than before and I feel as if he has more faith in me than he did before.

“Yeah you owe me an explanation for where you disappeared off to without a word.” He blurts out but it’s not in spite or anything as he gives me a light smile. At least he isn’t holding a grudge for what happened today. I really would have been there if I could, that’s without a doubt and I know that he knows this too.

We start walking when Uryuu suddenly stops and I turn to face him and his expression is strange like he’s sensing something.

“Uryuu? What is it?” I ask and the first thing that comes to mind is that he must be sensing a Bount or maybe that woman got some of her friends and they are coming back in large numbers but he doesn’t answer me as he just blinks repeatedly for a few seconds and then he just stops but what came afterwards caused my panic to skyrocket as blood starts dripping out of his nose.

“Uryuu!?” I shout out as I grab him and the moment that I did his body just suddenly goes limp as he falls into my arms. Blood coming out of his nose furiously… So much blood is coming out to the point that the front of his shirt is no longer white as it keeps getting redder and redder by the second…


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**Rukia**

A huge load seems to have been lifted off my shoulders; I’ve never been so relieved like this since I was cleared of all charges for having given my Soul Reaper powers to Ichigo.

Finally I can relax now that I know everything will be alright, that Uryuu and his father won’t be butchered in their sleep by the Soul Society. Uryuu will have the proper protection that he so desperately deserve until the Bount situation is taken into full control and his powers have returned.

Quincy or not, Uryuu is still a Ryoka and that means that we Soul Reapers have an obligation to protect him from the Bounts. It is our duty to protect any Ryoka that may be in danger from these fiends that would wish to cause them any harm.

A squad will be formed to deal with the Arrancar problem which is great but I hope that a separate squad will also be formed to deal with the Bounts. A single squad won’t be able to deal with both, well they could but it wouldn’t be as efficient.

After the Head Captain gave his final verdict earlier, I was asked to leave the Assembly Hall to allow the decision about the future squad who would go to the world of the living. I wished I could have stayed to know more but I know it is not my place. I’m nothing more than a simple Soul Reaper without a seated position. I was lucky enough to have been granted an audience with the Head Captain to begin with, I can’t expect more than that…

It feels like an eternity waiting outside. I feel like an idiot, just standing there doing absolutely nothing as I watched the sun shift place in the sky but much to my pleasure the large doors finally opens, followed by the captains coming out one by one and I wait patiently for mine to come out.

“Captain Ukitake may I have a word with you sir?” I ask as I walk up to him and as usual he welcomes me with a warm smile.

“Rukia, certainly.” He answers before gesturing for me to walk with him towards the squad thirteen’s grounds. 

I’m glad that captain Ukitake is my captain and I love being in squad thirteen. I wouldn’t want to be in any other; this is where I truly belong.

When I had first entered the Thirteen Court Guard Squad, I thought that I would have been placed in my brother’s squad so after being told that I wasn’t going to be put in squad six and instead be placed in squad thirteen, to be honest I was worried. I thought that maybe I wasn’t good enough; maybe that my brother didn’t want me near him due to shame of my origins but it wasn’t the case. The reason had not been what I had thought and I appreciate the reason ever the more now after learning the truth.

This is truly where I belong and this is where I’ll keep growing. With captain Ukitake’s guidance I can’t do more than grow and flourish into a better person, a better Soul Reaper. My captain gives me faith and strength, this division is like my second family. I’m thankful for my brother’s influence to have had me placed here right from the start, I’m truly blessed.

“I know it is not my place to ask but what of the squad who will be charged to protect Uryuu?” I ask, killing the silence between us but the captain’s gentle smile never fades away.

“These are dire times…” He says and I can’t argue and deny that fact. We are none the less at war, we don’t have much to spare. “Captain Hitsugaya has been chosen to go to the world of the living to deal with the Arrancars. His team will be to his choosing.” He adds but it wasn’t what I wanted to know or could this mean that the Head Captain truly only plans on sending a single squad to deal with both the Arrancars and the Bounts?

I have never had the opportunity to speak with captain Hitsugaya first hand, I have to admit that I know practically nothing about him other than a few gossip here and there. He probably knows little about Uryuu as well. He won’t care if something happens to him, why would the captain care when he isn’t close to Uryuu at all?

Who will the captain choose to go with him? If he further chooses people that know nothing about Uryuu, how will they be able to protect him efficiently? Would they be willing to put their lives on the line to protect him, would they care about Uryuu’s feelings about the situation?

“Only one captain and a single squad will be going to the world of the living!?” I blurt out. “Captain, the Bounts are extremely powerful I don’t believe that a single captain will be sufficient.” I add, voicing out my concern and yet captain Ukitake never grows stern, always wearing that warm smile.

“I agree and fortunately I was not the only one either, after much debate we came to an agreement that it would be quite excessive for a single squad to handle both the Arrancars and the Bounts. A second squad will be sent to deal with the Bounts.” He explains and I exhale the air that I had been holding in for a few seconds and I feel my very core loosen up.

“What a relief…” I express in a meer whisper to myself.

What a relief indeed, I can’t say it enough as I repeat it in my head over and over again to calm myself down, just to make sure it sinks completely into my mind.

“Captain Kuchiki will be handling the Bounts.” Captain Ukitake suddenly adds catching me by surprise.

“What!? My brother!?” Was all I could manage to say and I can only imagine how my face must look like as captain Ukitake laughed at my shocked expression and I feel my cheeks getting hotter by the second. I must looks like a tomato much to my dismay.

Who would have thought that my brother felt so strongly about this or there’s something else that my brother sees that I don’t but still for him to go out of his way for this is more than something. I never thought I would see the day, my brother personally volunteering for such a task that could have easily been given to another.

In the past, if someone would have told me that my brother would have done something like this I never would have believed them for a second. I’m speechless and yet I’m happy and even more relieved knowing that Uryuu will be in the perfect of hands. Who better to keep Uryuu safe from those Bounts than my brother, there is no one better for the job.

“Quite surprising, he volunteered himself and was the one who pushed for a second squadron to be formed and then the rest followed. You can rest assure Rukia, your friend will be alright.” Captain Ukitake continues explaining and yes he is right, I already feel myself ease up. With my brother watching over Uryuu, I know he won’t let anything slip and I know my brother will choose the right people for this squad. I know it.

“Captain! Problem!”

It was a rarity that Kiyone and Sentarou didn’t jump at the captain’s throat the moment he came out of the assembly hall and with them anything is always possible when they come crying out about some problem. Most of the time it never is but their expression is different, they seem rather anxious.

“Kiyone, Sentarou what is it?” The captain asks before they can start bickering among each other about who is better than the other and so on.

“Arrancars have attacked in Karakura Town, sir! And a Bount has taken Uryuu Ishida to parts unknown, sir!” Sentarou quickly declares not without getting a glare from Kiyone in the process but she doesn’t try to pick a fight with him like she usually does so does this mean it’s true?

The Arrancars finally making their move isn’t surprising but it can’t be true about Uryuu, it just can’t be. How could this have happened!?

“What!? When did this happen?” The captain asks the very question that was on my mind.

“This morning captain!” Kiyone quickly answers at her turn before Sentarou could respond to the captain’s question.

It’s a rarity but I can sense frustration in my captain as he scratches his head before asking. “Why did you not come alert me sooner?”

Yeah that’s what I’d like to know as well.

True that my hearing took all morning and the captains’ meeting to decide who would deal with the Arrancars and how the Bounts would be dealt with took a huge part of the afternoon but no matter what council was being held in the assembly hall, this news should have been prioritized. The Head Captain would never have punished anyone for disturbing the meeting, both the Arrancar attack and Uryuu’s abduction are no light matter.

“We would have captain but we only just learned it ourselves after overhearing squad twelve lieutenant report to her captain sir!” Both Kiyone and Sentarou answer at the same time.

That’s right, the bacteria implants within Uryuu must have alerted Squad twelve but why did Nemu waited so long and why did she only go to her captain to alert what had happened and not the Head Captain directly?

There’s no point in wondering why right now, if it’s true that Uryuu was abducted this morning then this is a serious problem. It’s extremely late, anything could have happened to Uryuu by now.

“Rukia head to the world of the living immediately and I’ll assist captain Kuchiki to get the squad ready immediately. In the meantime try to locate the boy but be cautious.” The captain orders and without another word I bolt into a run towards the Senkaimon gate.

The only thing that I can understand is that the Bount used the Arrancar confusion to their advantage. The Bount knew that no one would come to Uryuu’s aid because they couldn’t but right now there is so much that I don’t know.

Exactly how many Arrancars attacked this morning and who did they fight? Kiyone and Sentarou didn’t say but chances are that they probably didn’t know either so it is pointless in asking so my best bet is to regroup with Renji and ask for his assistance. Once I’m done crossing the Senkaimon I’ll be free to message Renji with ease and start my search with his help, hopefully that he’s not seriously injured.

As I expected, it’s already starting to darken in Karakura Town and that makes my search just that much harder, especially that the Bounts seem to be most active in the night than the day. This is their prowling hour, I have to hurry.

I take out my phone and quickly text what I wanted to say to Renji. He didn’t waste much time in answering with a confirmation that he would help me search for Uryuu. It would seem that he wasn’t aware that a Bount had taken him, if he had known he would have gone to Uryuu’s aid once he had defeated a Hollow he had mistaken for an Arrancar.

He further messaged me that he was currently at Urahara’s shop and apparently Urahara and Yoruishi had no idea either that Uryuu was currently missing and if that’s the case that’s not good.

Renji proceeds on sending me another message with the status of Chad being in critical condition after getting his right arm severely damaged and that Orihime also suffered grave injuries but he had no news to give me about Ichigo. He was a no show as Renji simply put it and somehow it didn’t surprise me, only further explaining why the Bount made its move.

Not only were the Arrancars the focus attraction of the hour, the Bount also knew that Ichigo was occupied with something else and that they wouldn’t have been disturbed…

For Ichigo to be a no show it can only mean that he was finally approached by those Soul Reapers who have gained Hollow powers just like him… A bad timing but it couldn’t be helped, it had to be done. Ichigo desperately needed that training, he just couldn’t postpone it. The fault here lies with us, we were just unprepared.

I start back into a run towards the center of the town. To be honest I don’t know where I should start looking. Karakura Town isn’t a huge town but it’s large when you are only two searching for a single individual and to make matters worse I don’t even know which Bount it could be that took Uryuu.

Could it be the one with the snake or that woman who interfered that time and took Uryuu away or could it be a completely new Bount that we know nothing about? However I have a gut feeling that it’s that woman from the other day. I don’t know why but from the moment that I heard Uryuu had been taken by a Bount, it’s her that came into my mind right away. Somehow I just know that it’s her.

I hope captain Ukitake and my brother can form a squad quickly on such a short time notice. Things are just not going as planned at all.

A sudden wave of spiritual energy catches my attention. Without a doubt it has to be Ichigo’s and I couldn’t be happier to sense him right now. Sometimes it’s a good thing that he always has so much spiritual energy leaking out of him, that way he’s often easy to find and as I continue running, doing a sharp turn around the corner and there he is.

“Ichigo!” I shout out to him, catching his full attention in the process but from the look on his face I’d say that he isn’t aware of much.

“Ichigo have you seen Uryuu?” I ask as I try catching my breath, placing both hands on my knees to try and stabilize myself while trying to get air into my lungs with much difficulty from having ran so much without rest.

“No I haven’t, I was just about to go see how he is.” He casually answers before his face jolted into alarm as he asked. “Did something happen?”

I open my mouth to start speaking; going to say about the bacteria surveillance within Uryuu but my rationality stopped me as I reformulated my phrase before speaking.

“Uryuu is under surveillance like you know.” I decide to say in short breathes. It’s best if Ichigo doesn’t know that Uryuu is infected with bacterias of captain Kurotsuchi for now. “I was informed a Bount approached Uryuu this morning and he went with her during the scuffle with the Arrancar attack.” I add and the pronoun ‘her’ just glided off my tongue. I’m not even certain that it was her and yet it just came out so naturally.

“What the hell!? I told Uryuu to keep an eye open for the Bounts! What the hell was he thinking-?”

“From my sources Uryuu is still powerless; it couldn’t be helped without provoking a fight. We have to find him.” I quickly add cutting Ichigo off in the process as I recall captain Kurotsuchi’s earlier statement in the assembly hall this morning. He claimed that Uryuu was still powerless and it could still be a while until he even gets a glimpse of his powers back.

“You don’t have to tell me that!” He suddenly barks back at me with anger building up in his eyes before adding. “I’ll take West of Karakura town; I’m more familiar with that area. Rukia you take the East side.”

“Alright, I’ll tell Renji to look to the North-East and I’ll take to the South. Be careful Ichigo, we don’t know what the Bount will do.” I warn him but not like I needed to. Although there’s anger in his eyes, there is also a fierce determination in them.

Even though it wasn’t that long since I last saw him, he’s changed a little. He’s more focused and there’s a sense of control in him. He’s more confident in himself and just seeing him grow so fast like he does is always amazing to see. To think only months ago he had been a rookie substitute Soul Reaper and now he’s the real deal.

It just makes me proud to see him grow, just so proud.

“Yeah I know.” He answered and with that I take off into a run and I feel him doing the same in the other direction.

I pull out my phone again and quickly send a message to Renji telling him to search North-East and that I would search in the South-East and Ichigo would take the West of Karakura Town of which he responded that he agreed to the idea and that was it.

Even now all I seem to do is run and run but nothing. The streets are empty as the lights in the lamp-posts start lighting up one by one and I can only imagine what hour it must be.

How many hours have passed since Uryuu was abducted and how many hours has passed since I arrived back in the world of the living? I can’t tell anymore but as the sky darkens I can only imagine it must be an hour or more.

The vibration of my phone jolts me out of my thoughts as I fumble to check what it is and it’s a message from Ichigo saying that he had found Uryuu with the female Bount but that he was alright and unarmed but the Bount had done something to Uryuu and it was something he needed to talk about later which is fine with me.

It’s weird how my intuition was right, I had no proof that the female Bount was even involved and there I have it. A message from Ichigo confirming it but again the word odd doesn’t even come close to describe this Bount.

She abducts Uryuu and then disappears with him for hours only to reappear later and he’s completely unharmed. I just don’t get this Bount, exactly what is she thinking exactly?

I send a message to Renji just to alert him to stop searching for Uryuu and that Ichigo had found him unharmed when my phone suddenly vibrates and it’s Ichigo again saying to come to the Karakura Honchou district immediately near the Karasu River.

I have a bad feeling down in my gut but I don’t reply back, I just start running as I use Ichigo’s spiritual energy as my guide. Luckily I wasn’t too far from him but when I finally found Ichigo, a mixed of emotions and confusion consumed my being.

Seeing Ichigo crouched down holding Uryuu in his arms who seemed unconscious and bleeding. I just couldn’t make any sense what could have happened. Ichigo said that he was fine, that he was unharmed so how could this have happened.

The look Ichigo gave me as I got closer was no longer filled with that fiery determination. All I saw at that moment was pure defeat, lost and filled with panic.

“Rukia… Rukia what do I do?” He asks as he searched for his words, never releasing his grip on Uryuu.

“Hurry we have to take him to Urahara now!” I order snapping Ichigo out of his panicked daze but he’s worried and I’d be lying if I say that I wasn’t too.

Tonight running around seems to be the only thing I’ve been doing, everything is a race and it’s never stopping. When we solve one thing another problem surface, we just can’t get a single break.

I debated on where to go. The favourable choice would have been to take Uryuu to his father’s hospital since it was much closer but if this is the doing of the Bount it would have been a waste of time taking Uryuu there. If this is the work of the female Bount then Urahara is our best bet and I’ll send an immediate dispatch to captain Unohana to come and heal Uryuu herself and see what could be the problem.

Never in my life have I seen something like this. Uryuu is pale and motionless in Ichigo’s arms. All that confirms me that he’s still in fact alive is his breathing but I can’t comprehend why he’s bleeding so much from his nose like that and I just can’t help it but I have this fear crept in the back of my mind.

If it’s not the Bount’s doing and is just simply coincidental, could it be that maybe something is seriously wrong with Uryuu’s health? Could it be that his health has dropped again and this is the result? Or… No it couldn’t be… I know that the bacterias inside Uryuu are used to watch Uryuu’s every move but there was still my theory that it could be used to kill Uryuu so… Could it be that captain Kurotsuchi decided to end Uryuu’s life at the news of his abduction? If he did this, I won’t keep this a secret and I won’t care what Ichigo does to Kurotsuchi. If he did this, this is a low move on his part even for him.

Urahara’s shop comes into view as we speed up our pace and waste no time entering the empty shop causing quite a racket in the process.

“Urahara!” Ichigo shouts as he moves forward deeper into the shop as Urahara entered from the back of the shop.

Urahara looked at Ichigo and then down to Uryuu for a few seconds before looking back at Ichigo. I can’t tell if he’s worried or not but he gestures to us to follow him to the back of the shop.

“Put Uryuu there Ichigo.” He orders and Ichigo complies rather hesitant about releasing Uryuu from his arms.

“What’s wrong with him?” Ichigo asks as Urahara inspects Uryuu but doesn’t answer and I can feel the panic growing inside Ichigo as he asked again. “Urahara, what’s wrong with him?”

“I can stop the bleeding but I don’t know. I need more time.” He answers as he starts working on Uryuu to stop the bleeding from his nose.

By the amount of blood that is coming out of his nose, if I had not known any better I would have thought that someone must have hit him, breaking his nose which would explain the large amount of blood coming out but there are no bruises so I know that Uryuu did not get hit. Ichigo would never hit Uryuu and if he hadn’t been fine when he first messaged me, Ichigo wouldn’t have lied. He would have told me, whatever this is, it’s serious.

Right now stopping the bleeding is the best thing to do which demands priority, if Uryuu loses too much blood this could cause him to sink back into that previous state of severe anemia that he was in not too long ago but exactly what caused this? Maybe I should have told Ichigo to take Uryuu to the hospital…

“Uryuu is dying-!”

“Ichigo, please calm down.” I tell him as I grab his arm, trying to pull him away so Urahara can work on Uryuu properly but to no avail, Ichigo is a nervous wreck.

“I just sent a dispatch to the captain of squad four. I got a reply; she’s on her way so relax Ichigo.” Renji alerts us much to my relief.

With all of this panic and rush I failed to notice that Renji had arrived back at the shop, I didn’t have the time to message Renji about the situation so it was just luck that he came back and with all the racket that we caused we must have alerted everyone here.

“I gave you a promise Ichigo, I won’t let Uryuu die.” I assure him but words won’t help him, only actions can and as long as Uryuu isn’t well Ichigo won’t stop worrying.

“He was fine…” Ichigo mumbles. “He was fine, he was alright and then-”

“Ichigo what happened with the Bount?” I ask, trying to pull Ichigo’s attention off Uryuu for a moment.

“She… She kissed Uryuu.” He says.

“Was she trying to eat Uryuu’s soul?” I ask but before Ichigo could answer Urahara cut him off.

“Bounts bite their victims in the neck like a vampire, they don’t kiss.” Urahara says before a flash of light engulfs the room and a door appears as it opens revealing two figures that I recognize right away as captain Unohana and Hanataro. “I’ve done all that I can, I leave the rest to you Unohana.” Urahara adds and she doesn’t waste any time to see to Uryuu’s needs.

With the captain here, I know that Uryuu will be fine but I don’t like her expression as she inspects his too pale body. “There’s venom under the layer of his skin that is starting to leak into his veins.” She states and if that’s not alarming I don’t know what is.

“The Bount poisoned him-!?”

“It certainly looks that way. However, it is too early to jump to that conclusion but it is with no mistake that Uryuu Ishida has been poisoned by a very dangerous toxin.” Captain Unohana explains.

“Can you save him?” Ichigo asks more like he’s pleading for the captain to save him with a fear in his eyes that she’ll tell him that she can’t.

“Yes, I can save him. His body must be detoxed from this toxin but I’m afraid that it won’t be a fast process.” She answers.

Uryuu looks so pale from all of the blood loss and that toxin can’t be helping either. As to how he could have been poisoned, it must have happened when the Bount kissed Uryuu. She must have transferred the venom onto Uryuu’s lips and before Ichigo could notice that Uryuu had been poisoned, the venom had already taken over his body and the symptoms came into surface.

This day started so well, I was able to secure Uryuu and his father’s safety and Uryuu would have his own protection squad until further notice. Everything was going so great but it was too good to last.

Bad news, consecutively one after the other; it’s just none stop. All the bad ones seem to over shadow the good things that happened today. Chad and Orihime are seriously injured, Arrancars have started to make their moves and we were completely unprepared, Uryuu gets abducted by that woman and then gets poisoned.

Things couldn’t possibly get worse and then it hits me and again things just gets more and more complicated. Someone has to alert Uryuu’s father about his son’s condition, someone has to tell him or otherwise this could mean trouble but who goes?

He didn’t like me when I saw him the last time and I don’t think Ichigo would be a smart choice either…

“Someone has to alert Uryuu’s father…” I say in a low tone catching everyone’s attention.

“Yeah that’s a good idea. Not like we have a choice in the matter but don’t worry I’ll deliver the message myself.” Urahara says and quite surprisingly Ichigo doesn’t try to change his mind and try to go himself. Instead he just sits down next to Uryuu’s unconscious body and says nothing. His eyes glued onto his friend as Unohana continues working and Urahara walks away.

 


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Ichigo**

I shouldn’t have waited; I should have rushed in the moment that I found them instead of waiting to see what the Bount would have done.

Damn it! I’m such a fool!

What the hell was I thinking that it be a good idea to wait and see what the enemy would have done with Uryuu? I messed up; I messed up more than bad… Uryuu’s life is in danger again and this time it really is solemnly my fault.

Rukia left a while ago not long after Kisuke left. She wanted to let Orihime know what had happened tonight and keep her into the loop. Her original plan was that I’d be the one to go and give the news to Orihime myself but I couldn’t and instead I asked her if she could go for me. Surprisingly Rukia agreed to my request and she didn’t try to get me to change my mind but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted to though.

The thing is that it wasn’t giving out the news about what had happened to Uryuu that bothered me. That’s not the problem it’s just that I couldn’t bear to look her in the eyes and tell her exactly what had happened because I failed. It’s the fact that I failed again that I just can’t face Orihime right now…

Ever since we came back from the Soul Society I just can’t win and it always ends up with my friends getting hurt in the end. Lately I can’t seem to be able to protect anyone no matter how hard I try there’s always something that fucks me up, everything that I do always keeps blowing up in my face and I can’t seem to catch a break.

First Chad and Orihime, then Yoruichi got injured defending both of them and now Uryuu… Who else is going to get hurt due to my own incompetents?

After finally getting that training, I felt great. I felt like I was in total control of myself and I know that I’m stronger now than I was before but what good does power do when I can’t make the right decisions? I’m so fucking pathetic, how the hell can I show my face in front of everyone when I can’t seem to get anything right?

When Rukia mentioned earlier that someone should alert Uryuu’s dad, my heart stopped. I couldn’t even bring myself to volunteer to deliver the news myself out of guilt, just like I couldn’t bring myself to look Orihime in the eyes.

How could I look his dad in the eyes and tell him what happened when I did absolutely nothing to prevent it? That Uryuu got poisoned because of a damn mistake that I made, because I chose to wait and see what that Bount would have done when I should have rushed in to save him the moment that I had found him and asked questions afterwards. If I had done that then Uryuu wouldn’t be in this situation right now, we’d be at his house talking about why I wasn’t there when the Arrancars had attacked. I would have told Uryuu everything about the Visoreds, about my inner hollow and now, I don’t even know if I’ll ever be able to tell him…

“You’re troubled, battling with the many emotions circling inside your mind. I understand completely however battling with yourself will not make your friend feel any better.” Unohana says taking me out of my thoughts with a soft tone as she continues trying to heal Uryuu but so far whatever she’s been doing doesn’t seem to have had any effect. He doesn’t look good…

“I shouldn’t have waited; I should have acted the moment I found him.” I tell her, my eyes glued onto Uryuu’s bloodied face, his eyes shut as I wonder if he’ll ever open them again. If I’ll ever see those deep blue eyes of his… I never said anything, I didn’t want to sound weird or anything after all guys don’t compliment other guys’ eyes but his have always captivated me. I don’t know if it’s because they are so rare or maybe because of his black hair that just causes them to stand out even more but it’s the first thing that I noticed about him.

The strong metallic scent is all I can smell, I could be blind and I’d know that someone had heavily bled in here. Thanks to Urahara he was able to stop the bleeding but no one has made any attempts to wash the blood off Uryuu’s skin. All that’s been done so far was Unohana removing his bloodstained shirt off just so she could have better access to heal him but it doesn’t look like she’s having much luck.

The blood on Uryuu’s face has long since dried up and started to darken, only helping to make his pale skin seem even paler than usual or maybe it’s due to the blood loss, or the poison, or maybe even both. Point is all I see his Uryuu going away little by little with each passing minute or maybe I’m just too worked up and stressed right now and it’s just my mind playing tricks on me. I’m just afraid that he’s dying, that he will die.

“One must never rush into an unknown situation. Your decision was wise and mature, you made the right choice.” She says always with a soft tone and I just want to call bullshit to that but I can’t. Well not that I can’t, I mean I could but I won’t… No I shouldn’t say anything of the sort.

I know that Unohana means well and she’s one of the last people I want to be rude to and anger but I can’t accept that my choice was the right one, I just can’t. Not when there is more negative than positive outcome from the choices that I made cause let’s just be realistic here for a second. If my decision had been right, Uryuu wouldn’t be lying on the floor covered in his own blood. He’d be conscious and fine…

“I chose wrong… If I had not hesitated back then, the Bount wouldn’t have kissed Uryuu and he wouldn’t have been poisoned. He’d be okay.” I finally say after a few minutes of silence after having chosen my words carefully. The last thing I want is to anger Unohana and have her leave, abandoning Uryuu to his fate. I can’t think of anyone else that could help him right now and to get this poison out of his body; she’s my only hope for Uryuu’s survival.

A flash of light suddenly fills the room again, followed by those same doors that captain Unohana and Hanataro came from earlier. After a few seconds, the doors slowly open revealing three figures coming closer until I can see who it is much to my surprise it’s Byakuya but the two others that he’s with I don’t recognize. I don’t believe that I’ve ever met neither of them before; no I have never met them before that I am sure of it.

One of them is a man I think. He looks weird with his face painted entirely white with the inner portion of his face painted black except for his nose that is painted white. His golden eyes only help to make him look even more twisted with that fucking creepy ass smile he has on his face.

His ears looks like stubbed golden cones, not really sure if it’s just for aesthetics or actually some sort of prosthetic for having lost his real ones and if so I don’t want to know how he could have possibly have lost them both but the more I look at this man, I really don’t want to be near him and the other is just a girl with black hair pulled behind into a braid and a short kimono with a badge around her left arm. All I can tell is that at least she looks normal and saner than that freak does or I could be completely wrong. Either way he creeps the hell out of me and with that white coat that he’s wearing, I can only assume that he must be a captain of the thirteen court guard squad so meaning that he must be extremely strong and that girl must be the freak’s lieutenant but why are they here?

Before leaving to meet Orihime, Rukia only said that Byakuya was coming to the world of the living with a squadron to protect Uryuu and to deal with the Bounts but she didn’t know when he’d come. It’s either that he came alone or those two are part of this squad but I’m having a hard time believing that Byakuya would want someone like that freak to be working with him on something so delicate

“Captain Kurotsuchi, I wasn’t expecting for you to come personally.” Unohana says without taking her eyes off Uryuu.

So that’s the guy that Uryuu fought against in the Soul Society, he’s the reason why he lost his powers in the first place so everything is his fault.

“Was the report not clear enough?” She adds and I can’t tell if these two actually get along or not. All that I know is that Unohana gave Hanataro a report about Uryuu’s condition to be brought to the lab back in the Soul Society but Hanataro hasn’t returned yet I wonder why.

“Sometimes a scientist must see the specimen first hand to get a proper diagnose.” He replied as he came closer to look at Uryuu’s half naked body and I can’t help but feel my anger raise a little about how he referred Uryuu as a specimen. He’s not an animal! Uryuu is a human being with feelings of his own, a voice and he has rights!

This man disgusts me, he hasn’t been here for more than five minutes and I already want him to leave. The way he’s looking at Uryuu, it’s like he’s some piece of meat and Kurotsuchi is the chef who has been marinating and prepping it to cook and is now waiting to see the long awaited results.

“Uryuu isn’t a specimen.” I growl as I get up to meet his golden gaze. “Touch Uryuu, do something to him and I promise I’ll kill you.” I add as Rukia entered the room but I never removed my glare off that man only to receive a chilling chuckle as a response. It’s like he’s not even taking my threat seriously well if not, he just needs to try me and I won’t hold back to unleash my wrath on him.

The reason why Uryuu is a target to those Bounts is because he can’t defend himself and this bastard is responsible for that. If it hadn’t been for him, Uryuu would still have his powers, he’d be able to defend himself but because of him. Uryuu is a sitting duck he can’t do anything, it’s all his fault!

“Tell me Kurosaki, how did the Quincy become poisoned in the first place I wonder?” He suddenly asks with a chilling voice, completely disregarding the earlier threat that I had made.

“The female Bount kissed him. That’s how the exchange of the venom was made.” I answer back much to my annoyance when it’s all something that he should be more than aware of already.

“Depending on the type of venom that has been used, certain amount of time must past for it to consume the body and allow its effect to be visible. Normally venom would be injected directly into the bloodstream by either injection or injury by a poisoned blade due to its high efficiency.” He explains as he crouched down to inspect Uryuu’s skin before continuing. “The time for a venom to take its effect in the bloodstream would take five to six minutes and depending how potent it is would determine how fast it would kill.”

“You’re point?” I blurt out.

“In the Quincy’s case the venom came into contact with his skin. As you theorized Kurosaki to be from the Bount’s kiss, logical choice to make but is none the less wrong.” He further explains as he touches Uryuu and I have to control myself not to lash out at him. “The venom was already within the Quincy for some time prior to this incident.” He adds as he gets up.

Now I’m completely lost here. How could this be even possible? It just can’t be possible that Uryuu had that shit inside of him for a while. He was fine, hell the last time I saw him he was okay. Yeah he was upset and a bit tired but there were no signs that he had been poisoned so it’s impossible that he already had that venom inside him. We would have known if he had.

“If it’s not the female Bount that poisoned Uryuu then who did? Was it even the female Bount that abducted Uryuu in the first place or did she interfered like she did before?” Rukia suddenly asks but Kurotsuchi never gave her his attention, like he completely ignored the question entirely.

It’s something that had crossed my mind earlier. This Bount in particular did interfere before when Uryuu was being held hostage by that snake freak. She had attacked and managed to get her hands on Uryuu and made her escape and then took him to his dad’s hospital so if that’s what happened again when I found them she might have been taking Uryuu to his dad but if that’s really what it was then why did she kiss him and why did she flee if she wasn’t an enemy?

“Can the venom be extracted completely from the boy?” Byakuya suddenly asks. I had almost forgotten that he was even there, he’s just so quiet.

“I was able to extract the venom that had entered his bloodstream but the venom is heavy and what remains under his skin refuses to move.” Unohana answers.

If Unohana can’t get all of that venom out of Uryuu’s body then what will happen to him? Are we going to have to watch Uryuu die a slow death? No I can’t accept that, he can’t die! He just can’t, I won’t let him die I just can’t accept that!

“Unohana, you have to save him.” I blurt out, almost in a whisper as I return my gaze onto Uryuu’s motionless face. I can’t even tell if he’s currently in pain or not, I can’t even tell if he’s aware about what is currently going on around him.

I don’t understand any of those Bounts. What are their goals and why do they keep on attacking Uryuu? What do they want with him and why do they keep torturing him this way? Nothing makes any sense; if they want Uryuu for something why poison him?

“By my findings, the venom itself is not particularly lethal as it remains under the skin. However, once it enters the bloodstream it becomes quite deadly.” Kurotsuchi says before Unohana can answer me and continues. “The venom itself simply serves as a nulling mechanism to alt the recovery of his Quincy powers.”

I can’t help but feel like everyone knows something that I don’t. Kurotsuchi knows too much about Uryuu’s current condition and logically that makes absolutely no sense. This is the first time I’ve ever seen him here in the world of the living and Uryuu hasn’t been to the Soul Society since we came back so how does he know all of this? I seriously doubt it that Unohana’s report was enough to fill him in such a short period of time, he knows more than what he lets on.

I’m having a hard time trusting this man, he’s shady and obviously insane but I’m forced to somehow trust him with Uryuu’s life. Everything, how Uryuu will survive I just have this feeling that his recovery will depend on this freak and I can’t say that I’m too thrilled about the idea. I don’t want him near Uryuu, I don’t want this freak to touch him but I want Uryuu to survive so I’ll let him do his work but he better not do a wrong move because I’ll have his ass.

“Exactly how long did Uryuu have that in him and don’t fuck around with me.” I ask not bothering to hide the frustration in my tone, not that it bothered him to begin with.

“By my analysis, the venom has been within the Quincy’s body since the first Bount confrontation. Curiously the venom had no effect on the boy.” He says and I can’t help but feel my frustration building up as I try to remain calm. He just fucking admitted that he knew all along that Uryuu had gotten poisoned but said nothing about it.

I know Uryuu has been monitored because he’s a Quincy, that’s what Rukia said and not like she needed to it was only logical that they would but seriously how the hell did this freak know so much about Uryuu? It’s like he has some monitors or something inside of him like seriously what the fuck?

“Only recently that I’ve learned the purpose of this venom. It acts to null the growth of the Quincy’s powers, preventing him from regaining them.” He adds and somehow now it makes more sense about why his powers were not returning even after his dad restored his powers. That he just did not feel like it had worked at all and I seriously doubt it that his dad would have made a mistake, he doesn’t seem like the type who would make something up or screw up.

“So now what? How can we-”

“Instead of asking nonintellectual questions, you should instead focus on locating the female Bount.” He cuts me off as he continues his golden gaze upon me. “It would seem that this Bount in particular was able to get the venom to move.”

He doesn’t have to say anything else, I know what I have to do but it pains me to have to leave Uryuu behind. I want to stay by his side, I want to be here if something happens but after hearing everything Kurotsuchi had to say and Unohana’s report about the venom itself being heavy under Uryuu’s skin and that it just won’t budge, it’s only evident that woman must have done something. She made the venom move in Uryuu’s body but the only thing is that I still don’t know is if she did it to try and save Uryuu or were her intentions to kill him?

If the venom truly is nothing more than nulling Uryuu’s powers from returning, then that can only mean that the Bounts don’t want him to regain his powers and it only makes sense. When Uryuu’s dad came to help us back at the hospital, from what Orihime told me he was able to kill those dolls with a single shot each.

First thing’s first, I have to find that Bount…


	19. Chapter 19

** Chapter 19 **

**Ichigo**

I didn’t want to leave, didn’t want to abandon Uryuu to suffer alone and right now all I can hear in my head is his ragged breathing. I can only imagine what that blood loss did to his body, to his health…

The mod souls that Urahara created have all been deployed to keep Orihime and Chad company and to warn them of any incoming Bounts if there is any nearby from them and also in their current condition, Orihime and Chad can’t fight. The mod souls will help defend both of them if need be but I highly doubt it that they’ll get attacked by the Bounts, they’re not the ones they want.

If the Bounts are to attack, they’ll go to Urahara’s shop and go after Uryuu but I’m confident that he’ll be alright until I get back and honestly, I don’t think the Bounts would be stupid enough to attack when they’ll sense that three captain level soul reapers are there and not to mention that Renji is there also so that’s three captains and two lieutenants, and by all means Rukia can easily be compared to a lieutenant with her skills.

I wonder why Rukia was never appointed to the rank of lieutenant for squad thirteen. She’s more than capable to handle the responsibilities if you ask me and she even has her own Shikai. She’s got all the skills necessary to become a lieutenant and yet squad thirteen remains without a lieutenant, I wonder why…

This isn’t the time for me to think about useless things! I have to find the female Bount and fast. She has to be somewhere in Karakura town but where? If only I could sense her that would make things much easier…

What’s with that Bount anyway? If she’s friendly and is actually on our side then why play this wild goose chase? If she knew that Uryuu was infected with a nasty poison and she knew how to get rid of it then she should have told me instead of running off like she did. I think it would have been vital information that we should have been given or maybe she might have thought that we wouldn’t believe her if she had told us the truth. Maybe…

Night time is when the Bounts become more active and yet everything is quiet. People are walking down the streets, not knowing that they could fall victim to one of those bastards at any given minute and become nothing more than a pile of dust.

Argh! I fucking hate this! I’m sick and tired of playing this game of cat and mice. I’m tired of all this fucking bullshit!

“Show your fucking face damn Bount!” I shout as loud as my lungs would allow me but nothing, not like I was expecting anything to happen anyway.

I left my body back at Urahara; I’m ready for a fucking fight and of course I have nothing on my end. If I was damn unprepared I’d probably be overwhelmed with enemies but I’m fully prepared and of course none are showing their damn fucking face around here and that’s what’s the most frustrating out of all of this. I just don’t get that Bount’s fucking logic here. I just don’t get it at all.

It feels like I’ve been running around town for hours. Maybe I have been running around for hours, I can’t tell but my patience has since been sucked dry. I need to find that female Bount and fast. I don’t know how long Uryuu can last, I don’t know if this poison that remains in his body will keep Uryuu in a somewhat comatose state. I just don’t know. I need him to be well again, I need Uryuu to be alright.

“You should be more careful.”

I stop dead in my tracks at the voice that spoke just now. Belonging to a woman and sitting right on a bench under the street light is that damn Bount. Her expression just neutral and calm, with no cares in the world. If she does have some care in her, she hides it well.

How long has she been watching me? It doesn’t matter, saves me the problem from having to find her.

“There are a lot of things I want to do to you right now.” I tell her as I grab the hilt of my Zanpakutou, ready if a fight starts.

She smiles at my threat, obviously not one bit worried about her own safety. There’s no arguing that she doesn’t see me as a threat, she must think that I’m weaker than she is. If she underestimates me, she’ll be the one with the surprise.

“How is your friend?” She asks in that same cold and calm voice. I can’t tell if she’s genuinely concerned or just taunting me.

“No good thanks to you.” I answer as I feel my anger starting to boil when I think back at what she did earlier and the fact that she doesn’t seem to show any bit of remorse is what further fuels my rage. “How dare you ask about Uryuu, you tried to kill him.” I add.

All that has happened to Uryuu tonight is all because of her. She took him when things got ugly with the Arrancars and now I don’t even know if Uryuu will make it through.

“I would never wish the child any harm.” She says after a few minutes of silence. Her expression went from neutral to a bit of sadness in her eyes.

I release my grasp of my sword. I don’t think she’ll give me a fight, well hopefully that she won’t. It be a real pain if I had to and not to mention that I need her alive. She won’t be much use if she dies, for Uryuu’s sake I can’t have her die but I can’t have her fleeing either.

“I don’t know what you did but you caused venom to enter his bloodstream.” I tell her, thinking about that spontaneous kiss that she gave Uryuu. Wondering if she had brought Uryuu near his father’s hospital because she had known that Uryuu would have bled so furiously, after all he would have been at the right place and she probably figured that I would have taken him there so she left, leaving the rest to me…

“Yes the venom… There’s no other way of extracting it from the body. It must enter the bloodstream otherwise it will remain there.” She acknowledges what we had first theorized much to my dismay. So that’s how it is, Uryuu really won’t start feeling better as long as that venom is still in him and I don’t think Unohana will be able to help but if the venom needs to enter his bloodstream does that mean I’ll have to watch Uryuu bleed out like he did previously? God please no! Uryuu won’t be able to bear any more blood loss.

“There’s still a large quantity of venom under Uryuu’s skin.” I tell her as I slowly approach the Bount who is still sitting on the bench and I noticed a pained expression on her face. It was quick and barely visible but it was there. For some odd reasons she seems to genuinely care about Uryuu, I don’t know why but she does.

“I had hopes of getting it all in one go. I failed; my apologies.” She tells me, her voice not hiding the hint of pain.

“We can’t get the venom to move, we need it out of Uryuu and apparently you’re the only one who can do it.” I admit and it’s the truth and if she’s not an enemy it’s time that she proves us that she isn’t and is actually an ally.

Humans, Soul Reapers, Quincies, even Bounts. It doesn’t matter what race you are, in every single one there are good and bad. There are some despicable humans in this world and there are some wonderful ones also. Soul Reapers have shown me that they are not without their own corruptions and as for Quincies, I have to admit that I only know two but they aren’t bad. At least Uryuu isn’t; that much I know. So if there is good in all of these beings, there’s nothing that says that there are no good Bounts as well.

“Come with me and I promise that you won’t be in danger, you have my protection.” I state and I mean it. I will fight to protect her if she proves to be a trustworthy ally.

She gives me a light smile as she gets up. I’ll take that as her version of a yes much to my relief.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

**Rukia**

Uryuu’s breathing as long since returned to normal but he’s still much too pale to my liking and since he’s unresponsive, I can’t tell if he’s experiencing any sort of pain or not but Captain Unohana doesn’t believe that Uryuu is feeling anything at this point and for his sake I hope that it’s true.  

Uryuu has been through far too much in such a short period of time and his life has not been without sorrows which only make all of this even worse. It’s like there’s always something to cause Uryuu some sort of pain and grief and what gets to me the most in that all of those things that Uryuu’s been experiencing is all he’s ever known.

Uryuu has been suffering for so long that he knows how to hide his real feelings so well now to the point that you can’t even tell that something is wrong. He’s able to pretend that everything is alright ever so perfectly when nothing is and none can tell. The thing is that Uryuu only shows what he wants others to see and it’s really scary how he does it so well.

We all believed that he was genuinely happy and without any sort of domestic problems. We never thought for a second that Uryuu was ill but all of that was nothing but a lie. Uryuu has never been truly happy, his happiness died long ago with the death of his loved ones and that hurts even more.

I’m angry with myself that it took Uryuu’s health to come to a rapid decline for all of us to realize that something was seriously wrong and in turn everything else came into surface. His past, his losses and the struggles that he faces every day with his health… The constant reach for a father’s love and approval that never comes into the form that he desires…

I wish I could do more for Uryuu, I wish there was something that I could do to ease his pain but nothing I can do would give him the love that he so desperately craves from a father that’s never there for him when it truly matters.

“Ichigo and Urahara have been gone for some time. You don’t think they’re having problems with their objectives? Rukia?” Renji calmly asks taking me out of my thoughts.

“Ichigo might be having problems in finding the Bount; they’re not exactly easy to track after all.” I answer back, not removing my gaze off Uryuu in the distance.

Ever since Ichigo left, all I’ve been able to do is stare at his face still covered in his own blood that has long since dried up. If Uryuu was awake right now, I know for a fact that he wouldn’t be able to stand being covered in blood like that. He never would have allowed the blood to dry up; he would have washed it off immediately…

“Yeah I figured that Ichigo might have a hard time finding the Bount but what about Urahara? Shouldn’t he have been back with Uryuu’s father by now?” Renji further asks.

Exactly what can I respond to such a question? That Uryuu’s father is probably at work and doesn’t feel like he should come to Uryuu’s aid or that he just doesn’t feel like his son is in any danger at all so he’s simply taking his time to come? Or worse, he doesn’t feel the need to intervene and he’s letting us to deal with this problem on our own…?

How do I even come to explain to Renji that Uryuu’s father is a very complex man and to be honest I can’t come to understand this man at all? I initially thought that Uryuu was simply being difficult with his father and that he was simply not allowing his father a chance to prove himself but after meeting with Ryuuken Ishida in person. I understand clearly now as to why Uryuu behaved the way that he did towards his father. To be honest, I can’t blame him either…

I slowly look up as Tessai enters the room with a pot of warm water and some cloths hanging on his left shoulder and before I even knew it I was already up to my feet and made my way to Uryuu and kneeled next to his unconscious body as I take a cloth from Tessai and begin to gently wash Uryuu’s pale face; wiping away the dried and crusted blood from his snow white face.

“Rukia… I know it’s pretty pointless right now but you’re not to blame for this.” Renji tells me as I feel his hand rest on my shoulder but I can’t look at him and I simply continue to gently remove the blood off Uryuu’s face.

Tessai doesn’t say anything as he lays the other clean cloths next to the pot, gets up and walked away out of the room, leaving us alone once again and to be honest I prefer that no one else is around right now. I prefer the solitude…

“I can’t let Uryuu die Renji.” I state in a low tone that could have been mistaken for a whisper.

“Uryuu won’t die Rukia. He’s in the best care right now and even Captain Unohana said that his life doesn’t seem to be in any danger-”

“What if Captain Unohana is wrong?” I cut him off sharply as I hold back the tears that are forming in my eyes.

I don’t want to cry. I shouldn’t cry, it’s not my place to do so. Emotions are not needed right now, I can’t be emotional but it’s so hard. It’s hard to repress all of those feelings that’s been building up for so long because deep down, I know that Uryuu is in this condition because of me. If it hadn’t been for me, he never would have come to the Soul Society and he never would have fought against Captain Kurotsuchi and he never would have lost his powers. Uryuu would have been able to defend himself from that first Bount if he had his powers and none of this would have happened.

“All we can do right now is have faith in the Captains.” Renji calmly states and adds, “They won’t fail, and you know that they won’t.”

I’m not so sure that the Captains will succeed… Nothing is going like it should; we just can’t seem to catch a break. Every time we decide on something, the Bounts always seem to be one step ahead of us. It’s like they can predict our every moves. It’s as if somehow they manage to get information of the Thirteen Court Guard Squad and they know when we are occupied with something and that’s when they act.

What if…

Could it be that?

We have already established that we can’t sense the Bounts and even if I ask Renji if he had felt anything unusual during the Arrancar attack, he won’t have anything to tell me. What causes us even more problems is that we know absolutely nothing about them, we are completely in the dark and as we tried to gain information about them we might have missed the most obvious answer.

“Renji, this might sound crazy but I need you to hear me out.” I say as I finish wiping Uryuu’s face clean.

“What is it Rukia?” Renji curiously responds.

“I think we have a traitor hiding somewhere in the Thirteen Court Guard Squad.” I state as I turn my gaze towards Renji to meet his eyes.

“What!?” He quickly blurts out and adds in almost disbelief, “Come on Rukia, now why would one of us side with the Bounts?”

I know that what I’m saying doesn’t make much sense. Why would a Soul Reaper from the Thirteen Court Guard Squad align themselves with beings that stand against everything that we stand for? Yeah I know it sounds completely ridiculous but after everything that’s happened lately, I’m not going to push anything aside.

“Before, it would have been crazy to even think that a Soul Reaper would ever ally themselves with Hollows.” I quickly reply as I think back at the sudden betrayal of Aizen and of two other Captains that caused a severe shift in power towards the Hollows. “Every time we are occupied with something in the Soul Society, the Bounts immediately act so someone must be informing them which then leads to my second theory.” I add.

“And what is that?” Renji asks.

“We know that Uryuu was poisoned by the first Bount that attacked him.” I state, leaving Renji rather unimpressed but I have a point.

“Yeah and the female Bount then interfered and took Uryuu away and somehow he was taken to his father’s hospital.” Renji adds and yes that is exactly true and it’s part of what I’m going at.

“Exactly. That Bount in particular saved Uryuu back then. She deliberately went against her own kind in order to save him and not just once but twice.” I explain and continue, “I think she knew that the other Bounts were coming for Uryuu during the Arrancar attack and she got to Uryuu first.”

“Are you implying that she actually intends to protect Uryuu?” Renji asks. “That her sole end game is to protect Uryuu and nothing more? But why?” He adds and that’s the only thing that I can’t seem to come up with a logical answer as to why this Bount in particular would even want to protect Uryuu.

From the little that we know about Bounts is that they’ve lived for hundreds of years, maybe even more so this Bount in particular can’t be familiar with Uryuu. I seriously doubt it that she ever made contact with him before now. However, she does know him to some degree and there’s that sudden kiss that she gave Uryuu when Ichigo found them so does that mean that she might have some sort of feelings for Uryuu? From what Ichigo told me, Uryuu seemed somewhat shocked at the sudden action so if there is some sort of attraction, it’s rather one sided.

“I don’t know but what I do know is that she won’t harm a single hair on Uryuu’s head. If she truly wanted to do him harm, she had every possible chances to do so but she didn’t.” I state and I’d be willing to put both of my hands on hot burning coal if it turned out not to be true.

I sincerely feel like this Bount does care for Uryuu and now something else just came to mind. If she has been watching Uryuu for quite some time, maybe she has been watching him ever since he was a small child. She might have been active in Uryuu’s life when he was younger and if she was well Uryuu is much too old to even remember meeting her in the past…

Ichigo told me that Uryuu’s anger towards us Soul Reapers started after he witnessed his grandfather die at the hands of a swarm of Hollows and that we didn’t come to save him in time all thanks to Captain Kurotsuchi. That even per say has always bothered me because if Uryuu was there and he witnessed his grandfather die, how is Uryuu even still alive?

The Hollows that attacked Soken Ishida should have been able to sense Uryuu’s presence and after killing Soken, they should have gone after Uryuu and yet they didn’t and now I’m starting to wonder if this Bount had something to do with it.

What if this Bount has been watching Uryuu since birth? She watched his grow and since we know that Bounts can’t repopulate their species, she gained joy watching a young happy family and then things changed. The happy family she watched started to crumble away and then a little boy who was once full of joy suddenly became consumed with grief and loneliness…

“If she really isn’t our enemy then why did she flee from Ichigo?” Renji asks taking me out of my thoughts and that answer is quite simple really.

“If you know that you’re a target to be destroyed, would you stay or flee Renji?” I ask back.

“I guess you have a point.” He replies but by his expression I know that there’s something still bugging him in his mind and eventually after a bit of silence he asks, “But why Uryuu? Why not his father? A Quincy is a Quincy.”

“Because Uryuu is a child.” I answer as I return my gaze onto Uryuu as I pull the sheet up to his shoulders.

“Okay so we have a sick minded Bount who likes children?” Renji blurts out without putting in much thoughts I’m sure.

“This Bount, she can’t have children of her own-”

“And the young Quincy is motherless so this Bount is consumed by motherly instincts towards the boy.” Captain Kurotsuchi cuts me off as he adds his own version of what I was going to say but that’s pretty much it and if my theory is right. If Uryuu was to be in danger, this Bount would more than just fight back. She won’t stop, not as long as she’s breathing and not knowing exactly what her limits are, it’s almost frightening.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a review if you wish.


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